It did have the correct mass that most people feel at home with and it was centrally located so it was understandably hard for its founders to give it up. They struggled to find their niche settlers, but this was during the time when human kind was first reaching out to other planets and there seemed to be so many that fit so well that nobody wanted to settle on such a limited planet. That is until they were approached by a businessman whose only concern was how closely the planetary government would be watching the inhabitants. The founders shrewdly responded with ‘how close would you like’ which then developed into a central government based on the ‘pay us enough money and we’ll leave you alone’ principle. Unlike other planets that had strict laws about shuttle and teleport access, this world had a more open door policy knowing that the only people that come here are people that have business here. That business might not always be pleasant so there’s a planetary security force that stops things from spilling over into other areas of the populace. Other than that, you’re on your own.
Monti Alibra had a fair sized estate in one of the nicer areas. Ellie and Talia left the shuttle and began walking towards the building that served as both Monti’s home and office. There were a few guards stationed around the general area. Monti was sitting on the patio, watching their approach.
“Four guards,” said Ellie.
“Yup and probably another five watching,” said Talia. “Plus a dozen more elsewhere on the grounds. This guy is no slouch.”
“I think he looks nervous,” said Ellie. “Do you think he looks nervous?”
Talia glanced at Ellie, “I think you look nervous. Relax, will you?”
“Can you handle these guys?” asked Ellie.
“Maybe these four if we act first,” said Talia.
They reached Monti, exchanged greetings and sat down.
“Captain Ellis,” began Monti. “I must say that I was intrigued by your request to meet. So much so that I did a little digging and it didn’t take long for me to determine that Ellis is an alias. Not that that was unexpected, but you see, I like to know exactly whom I’m working with. I’m sure you understand. I sent your image to a contact I have in the Fed and I must say they have extensive records and some very excellent facial recognition programs. It didn’t take them long to identify you and your family. I must say, your family name seemed to come up quite a bit.”
“They do get around,” agreed Ellie.
“Indeed,” said Monti. “But you’re listed as a family member, not really part of their gang – should we call it a gang?”
“I wouldn’t,” said Ellie. “They seldom work together since they realized how much of a strain all the double and triple-crossing was putting on the annual family reunion.”
“Very colorful, none the less,” nodded Monti. “But you were the odd one out, so to speak, running a freight business. I began to wonder why someone with your family background would need my services. I dug a little deeper and came across your brother Jon and his little predicament. It became obvious that he is the item you want me to enter into negotiations with the Feds on your behalf and the payoff would be based on the capture of a certain person.”
“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” began Ellie.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” said Monti. “Very foolish of you to think that I would accept reward money to betray an old business associate like Macnair. That sort of thing is bad for one’s business on many different levels. Bad for one’s health on many more.”
“I’m not asking you to betray anyone. I just want you to work a deal,” began Ellie before being cut off by Monti.
“But that’s what he would see it as, a betrayal,” said Monti. “No way around that fact.”
“I don’t even know who you’re talking about,” said Ellie. “Who is Macnair?”
“He’s the gentleman your brother is serving up to the Feds on a silver platter,” explained Monti. “And believe me, he’s not the type to be served up. He usually does the serving and the carving. He wants your brother, he wants him very badly.”
“Look,” said Ellie, “I don’t know where Jon is. I came here to discuss a different deal entirely.”
“It doesn’t matter one way or the other,” said Monti. “I’ve already been in contact with Macnair. He’ll be here in an hour or so. He was most happy to hear that he would have you as a bargaining chip to use as a means to get to your brother.” Five more security guards with weapons at the ready came on the patio.
At that moment Talia sprang up from her seat, poised for action. All eyes and weapons moved to her direction. “Did I mention that we’re not actually together?” she asked Monti pointing back and forth between her and Ellie and then in a lower voice, “I don’t even know her brother.”
17.
Lyn and Jon had ordered room service and were eating breakfast while formulating their next steps. Simon was still asleep.
“So you believe that Gilbert and your sister are okay?” asked Lyn.
“Absolutely” said Jon. “It sounds like she gave those guys the slip and, if I know my sister, she went right into hiding. I am a bit concerned about just exactly what’s in her cargo. She’s a fairly smart girl and doesn’t like complications, especially anything illegal. I’m guessing that she dumped her cargo into the nearest star and has already filed an insurance report. She’s not the type to go looking for trouble.”
“Look, Jon, I know you believe you’re some kind of expert on women, but don’t underestimate your sister. She fought off a pirate ship. Exciting situations like that can put a person in an entirely different state of mind.”
“I guess it’s possible, but even then, she’s not going to do anything stupid. And speaking of exciting situations and doing stupid things, what did you do to Simon? Is he even alive in there?”
“Lover boy’s doing fine,” confirmed Lyn. “I snuggled next to him earlier this morning and he was already up, so I woke him and we had another go at it. He’s back to sleep now, but let me tell you, it’s like being in a cluttered carpentry shop; every time I turn around, I bump into hard wood. I’m staying out here where it’s safe for a while.”
“I imagine he’s got a lot of pent up yearnings,” said Jon.
“Twenty years worth and I decided to open the flood gates.”
“You do realize that he may become attached to you?”
“Are you kidding? He already asked me to marry him. Twice.”
“Did you accept?”
“Of course not. I told him just to relax and we’d see where things go. Then he told me that he was willing to enter into an exclusive relationship if I was willing to make the same commitment.”
“What were you guys laughing about?” asked Simon as he emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later. “You woke me up.”
“Nothing, darling,” said Lyn. “Now come over here and have some breakfast. Let’s see if we can put some more meat on those bones.”
“Morning, gang!” said Ellie2. “I have news. That ship we’re tracking left dock early last night.”
“And you’re just finding that out now?” asked Jon.
“Yup,” said Ellie2. “They must be running real silent. I haven’t heard a thing from the tracking worm I loaded into their ship’s computer so I pinged it this morning. I didn’t receive a response so either they found it and disabled it, which is highly unlikely, or they’re running super silent and it can’t communicate without giving itself away. I was able to check the station’s dock log and the ship pulled out about four hours ago.”
“What was the ship’s configuration?” asked Jon.
“Built to out run and out gun just about anything commercial out there,” said Ellie2.
“Sounds like they had to leave in a hurry for something very important,” said Jon. “Okay, let us know the second it comes back on the grid.”
“Did you have any luck finding Alicia?” asked Simon.
“None at all and that’s very surprising,” said Jon. “Alicia’s not t
he type of person to go unnoticed. I’ve checked all police and hospital admissions, all hotels, shopping malls, everything I could think of. She doesn’t even have any local currency or credit cards with her.”
“It is possible that she got lost or picked up by someone,” said Lyn. “I hate to say it, but there could have been foul play involved.”
“Alicia is a member of a royal family and there’s always the threat of foul play,” said Jon. “She has a bio implant that can detect and neutralize most poisons, a surveillance implant that would warn her if she was being followed and she can probably shoot energy beams out of her finger tips, just to name a few of her tricks. I think she can handle herself here and that’s part of what has me perplexed.”
“Really? Energy beams out of her fingertips?” asked Simon.
“You bet,” nodded Jon. “An internal weapons system is pretty intense and expensive, but it’s necessary if you want to be able to protect yourself without always carrying a weapon on your person. They usually replace a piece of bone like a rib or maybe a section of the pelvis with a pulse generator and then use an ultra thin flexible conduit to channel the energy beam to its exit point, usually the fingers. Some people like using their eyes, others their toes; it’s a personal preference sort of thing. Fingers are the most popular since you don’t have to be facing the direction you want to shoot in and fingernails make the perfect beam emitter location.”
“Are you kidding us?” asked Lyn.
“Nope and let me tell you, if you see someone pointing at you and their finger is bent a bit so the nail is facing you, you better duck.”
“Oh great, I am going to be so paranoid next time we leave Earth,” said Lyn.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Jon. “It’s very uncommon. Most people that need to go armed prefer an external weapon so they’re not tied down to a single choice of firearm.”
“Hey, guys,” interrupted Ellie2. “I’ve been monitoring local communications and I believe I’ve located Alicia. Tune the television to channel 155.”
“Oh no,” said Lyn as she turned on the TV and went to channel 155, expecting it to be a news broadcast either describing an unknown Jane Doe victim or some guy with gaping holes in his body. “What the hell is this?” she asked.
The three stared in disbelief as a reality show called The Beach House began. The show centered around a group of men and women, all of whom seem to be in their twenties, and the only detectable plot was seeing who could screw whom the worst - or the best, depending on which definition of ‘screw’ you used. And there, in the middle of it all, lying by the pool, was Alicia.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Simon.
“She’s been on the planet three days and she’s cast on a TV show?” exclaimed Lyn.
“Shush, they’re introducing her,” said Jon. “Why is she blurry?”
“They don’t allow nudity on these channels,” explained Simon, “so they make the good bits fuzzy.”
All three focused on the television as the show began. “And here’s our latest arrival at The Beach House, Alicia! Believe it or not folks, we found Alicia down the coast just a few days ago when we were conducting a talent search. Five minutes into the interview and we knew we had to have her for the show. Let’s watch some of that video,” and the scene transitioned from poolside to a private beach cabana.
“Could you tell us your name,” began the recorded interview.
“Sure, it's Alicia.”
“Is there more than that?”
“Well, my full name is Alicia Verona Telleto Burdast.”
“And what do you do?”
“Oh, most anything.”
“What I mean is, are you an actress or a model?”
“Oh, I don’t work,” laughed Alicia. “I’m a princess.”
“Really? And what country are you from?”
“Country? Oh, I’m not from Earth, I’m from a planet in, what you would call, the Canes Venatici Constellation.”
“Well, you look fabulous. They sure do make them gorgeous out there.”
“Thank you,” smiled Alicia. “I’d show you more, but they made me put on this bathing suit earlier when I was on the beach.”
“You can take it off in here if you like.”
“That would be great,” Alicia said and blurriness was again applied.
“You certainly look like a 100% natural beauty. If you don’t mind my asking, are those natural or do you have implants?”
“Well, of course I have the standard memory and language implants plus a few others like bio-medical, security and combat. I have a weapons implant that allows me to shoot energy beams out of my body, but I’m not going to tell you which part they come out of,” said Alicia, waving her finger. “A girl has to have some secrets.”
“Well, there you have it,” said the original commentator as the interview ended. “Our latest addition to The Beach House is a stunning alien princess that can shoot laser beams out of her body, but she won’t tell us from where. Should make for an exciting season.”
The show went to a commercial break, leaving Jon, Simon and Lyn blankly staring at an advertisement for tampons.
“Unbelievable,” was all Jon could manage.
“Don’t worry,” said Lyn. “This is a kid’s program. No one takes it seriously. Everyone will think that it’s part of the show. No one will believe what she said was true.”
“And it will take decades for that TV signal to reach her planet, if it’s where she said it is and I doubt anyone will be watching,” added Simon.
“I don’t know which is more amazing – that she’s on a television show or that she knew where her planet is located in Earth’s sky,” said Jon. “Right then, we’ll have to go and get her.”
“Really?” asked Lyn. “She seems to be enjoying herself and it’s keeping her out of our hair. We should focus on Gilbert and your sister first, make sure she’s okay and get him back. Then you can deal with the princess and whatever else you got going on.”
“Maybe you’re right,” said Jon, “but I have to talk to her before we go anywhere. If nothing else, I’ll give her Agent Tomas’ contact info, just in case she gets into a jam while we’re gone and needs someone to bail her out.”
“Speaking of contacting people, is there a way for you to contact your sister?” asked Simon.
“Not directly,” said Jon. “I left her a message, but haven’t heard back yet.”
“Is that something we should worry about?” asked Lyn.
“Her ship went off the grid days ago,” said Jon, “probably right after their run-in with the pirates. I still think she’s lying low and waiting for things to blow over. That would explain her silence.”
“Any idea where she might have gone?” asked Lyn, getting back into her professional mode. “Does she have a safe spot that you know about? Did you two ever discuss a time or place where you could meet if something like this happened?”
“No,” said Jon. “You see, Ellie is the safety net. Not just for me, but other members of my family sometimes run afoul with the law as well. Ellie was the youngest and we didn’t want her to follow in our footsteps, plus she didn’t really have the knack for it. Anyway, we all chipped in, bought her the freighter, installed an untraceable teleport system and we use it from time to time when we need to make a quick exit.”
“Who’s this ‘we’ you keep mentioning?” asked Lyn.
“Oh, my father, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins. That sort of we,” said Jon. “Now I can tell by the way you’re looking at me that you’re getting the wrong idea, but she enjoys it when we visit.”
“I bet,” said Lyn. “She was probably overjoyed when Gilbert showed up.”
“I’m sure they’re getting along wonderfully,” said Jon. “But you’re right, it’s time we collected him and made sure everything is alright with Ellie. Ellie2, where’s this beach house located?”
“Just under a three hour drive from here,” said Ellie2.
&
nbsp; “That burns a day to go, check on Alicia and return,” said Jon. “Alright, we’ll take Lyn’s advice and leave Alicia where she is for now. I think our best or maybe only move is to return to the space station and see if we can find out what made that ship leave in such a hurry or where they went off to. Maybe I can get a handle on who hired this guy or what they’re after on Ellie’s ship.”
“Don’t worry, Lyn,” said Ellie2. “I’ll monitor everyone’s fingers while we’re there.”
18.
“Everyone comfortable?” asked Monti.
“Yes, but you don’t understand, we came here to…” began Ellie.
“We came here to get your help with Jon and if you’re not going to help us, then just let us go,” interrupted Talia.
Monti had restrained Ellie and Talia, but placed them comfortably in an interior room. Monti cocked his head at Talia and then looked at Ellie. “What were you going to say, my dear?”
“Just that I don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal about Jon,” said Ellie.
“Could I be missing something here after all? No matter,” said Monti, “Macnair has arrived and we’ll sort it all out. I’ll be back shortly and we’ll continue our conversation.” Monti nodded to the guards as he left the room. “Keep an eye on that one.” he said, indicating Talia.
Talia leaned forward and said in a soft voice, “Don’t say anything about the you-know-what. Let’s save that as a final bargaining chip.”
“Right,” said Ellie. “And thanks for all that bodyguard stuff you did out there. You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“If I could have gotten free,” said Talia, “then I could have planned a rescue.”
“Using Gil, Franco and Holt?” asked Ellie. “Please, I’m surprised the ship hasn’t crashed into the planet by now.”
Monti, along with Macnair and his crew, entered the room a short time later. Monti pointed to Ellie.
“Hello,” said Macnair. “Monti tells me you’re the sister of a good friend of mine.”
“Oh, I doubt that,” said Ellie.
“Really?” said Macnair. “I’d be very upset if I came all this way and you’re not who we think you are.”
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