"Anything I need to know?" she asked. Tranter shook his head, then realised she wasn't looking at him and spoke.
"Nope, just take her through like it was normal space. You need to approach at the right angle though or we'll be squashed flat and who knows where the hell we'd come out."
"No pressure then," murmured Raan from his seat and Erion nudged him, violently.
"Here's the angle of approach," said Tranter, entering it into her navigation controls. "Remember it, don't save it in case the ship is compromised. The wormhole will do the rest. There's normal space on the other side, but you'll come out like a comet so you'll need to be ready to put the brakes on and yank her round to port to avoid the wreck. You can handle it, kid but I'll be here in case you screw up."
"Well, thanks for the confidence," she muttered. "Brake, hard to port, avoid the wreck. Wait a minute; what wreck? What do you mean, wreck?"
"Take it easy Lieutenant, it's a little bit of extra insurance in case the wrong ship comes through. Trust me, Star, it's a milk run," he grinned. "You'll be fine, like I said, I'm here, don't worry." The wormhole was now clearly visible to the naked eye and Tranter showed Starfire a control to phase the outside structure of the ship so everyone could get a good look. The walls of the shuttle gradually dissolved so that it looked to the passengers as though they were in an open topped ship. It sailed on and Starfire slowed the little hopper as they approached the now massive spinning tunnel.
She nudged the ship forward on its planned trajectory and it entered the whirling mass of lights. Time seemed to stretch and her vision blurred for a few seconds, but it seemed to last much longer. There was nothing but greyness to give a visual bearing inside the strange tunnel but Starfire's ears told her churning stomach the ship was spinning over and over. A low hum grew louder and lower, past the point of human hearing that was felt in her chest, more than heard. It was accompanied by an overpowering aroma of bad eggs that made her feel slightly nauseous, although a quick check later revealed that they had all experienced something slightly different but just as unpleasant.
Then they were out into normal space and felt the jolt of the gyros as Starfire hit the brakes and slewed the ship round to port as directed by Tranter. The massive bulk of a derelict tanker came into view and lurched perilously near to them as Starfire skimmed its surface and accelerated away before slowing the Little Dragon down to crawling speed.
"Fraggin' hell!" muttered Raan. "Don't switch the transparent on when we go back, Star. I'd rather just look at the bulkheads."
"That was amazing," began Erion, "I don't think I liked it though."
"We'll probably be a hundred years older when we get back," said Raan, the sudden expert on inter-dimensional travel.
"That would not be the case in this instance," said Delta Ten. "What you refer to would be…"
"I was only joking," snapped Raan.
"Damn it Tranter, when you said 'yank her to port', you didn't tell me we would be in impact range," spluttered Starfire.
"Told you I had every confidence in you, babe." Tranter winked at her. "Now you've been through with a hopper, you should have no trouble at all with that little itty bitty corvette of yours. Take this heading." He entered more co-ordinates into her navigation controls.
"I know…" Starfire forestalled his next comment with a raised finger. "Remember it, don't save it to the computer."
"You learn pretty quick, kid. Here, have a cigar." This side of space was completely black and, as there was absolutely nothing to see, Starfire opaqued the walls and the inside of the shuttle became visible with only the windscreens showing the direct, forward view.
Eventually, after an hour or so, one side of a large dark planet became visible. It's starboard side was illuminated from the pale glow of a very distant star. It was the only noticeable thing to be seen in the darkness all around them.
"Another dreary place," muttered Starfire. She switched on the transparent so they could all see the dead ball of rock hanging in front of them.
"Don't ever forget these co-ordinates, honey,'cos there ain't nothing else here for a dozen quadrants," said Tranter. "As far as we can tell, this miserable rock and that little sun is all there is and if you fly right by, you'll run out of fuel and die."
"Note to self…." muttered Starfire.
"Land right there," Tranter entered some so-ordinates and Starfire aimed the shuttle towards the light side of the little planet. As they neared, tiny buildings could be seen below, gradually enlarging as they approached. Several ships sat on lighted landing pads and two large tankers were in stationery orbit, hanging motionless above the main complex, obviously too big to land. Tranter touched the panel in front of him and spoke again, "Alliance Control this is Tranter in the planet hopper, Little Dragon. Log us in will you?"
"Welcome, Little Dragon. Do you see your pad?" A landing pad illuminated on the surface and Starfire aimed the shuttle towards the flickering green lights. It was of a standard design and Starfire took control of the shuttle's downward thrusters to turn to starboard and hover slowly nearer and nearer until she placed the little ship next to a shed like structure. The hopper landed with a slight jolt and she opaqued the walls again and cut the engines. There was another jolt and a clang as the umbilical snaked slowly out from the building and connected with the hatch on the side of their hull. The light on her console changed from red to green and Starfire turned in her seat.
"We're connected and good to go."
"Well then, let's go," said Tranter brightly, pushing his way through the standing passengers to the hatch. He slapped his hand on a pad by the side of the hatch and it split and opened. The top two thirds lifting outward and upwards into a brightly lit tunnel, while the bottom third rotated downward and extended into four shallow steps. They followed Tranter down the umbilical tunnel to reach an aircar hatch at the other end. He placed his palm on the ident and the door opened at his touch. Everyone piled in and settled themselves on the padded bench seats all around little sphere. It must have been pre programmed as it set off immediately, taking them swiftly to yet another unknown destination. The main direction was downward, although the car swerved left and right on occasion. After less than a minute, the car stopped and swivelled a hundred and eighty degrees. The door slid open and they stood up to walk into a large, spacious office. A young Aurian man was apparently expecting them and was waiting, his palm already up to Tranter, who stepped from the aircar and placed his hand on the other's and clenched fingers in the Aurian way. The Grennig crew arranged themselves in a rough line, waiting to be introduced. The office door opened and Thirty-Seven clanked in. Starfire and Raan stared, open mouthed, but Erion smiled and walked towards the robot.
"Starfire, Raan, this is Thirty-Seven." She raised her palm towards him in the traditional weapons free gesture and his did the same, briefly touching her fingers before letting them go.
"Greetings," he spoke in a warm, rich voice. "Welcome to our base. This is the headquarters of the Alliance against the New Aurian Federation. He bowed towards them and waved a hand towards the small Aurian man who had turned to face them. "This is Gant, the tactical leader of the Alliance. He would like to talk to you all."
"Please sit," the young man had a quiet, unassuming voice and motioned towards several comfortable chairs arranged in a semi circle in front of the desk. He nodded briefly to Erion. "Welcome again, Major. Do any of you require refreshments?" He noted their shaking heads. "Very well, I will get right down to business. I hear from Con Tranter that you wish to learn more about our Alliance."
"Yeah," began Raan. "Just how long have you been in operation? This is a classy set-up. It hasn't been put together in the last few days."
"All will be explained if you consent to join us, Captain," answered Gant. "I will say that this alliance has been growing for a number of years, though." Gant saw their jaws drop and felt obliged to continue. "All has not been well in this galaxy for a long time and discontent is now turning to open
rebellion."
"But...." began Starfire. Gant cut her short.
"I'm afraid you have been misled and cocooned in your little Federation world, Lieutenant. In order to keep the Federation in power, many smaller worlds in the outer sectors have been taken and virtually stripped bare by the Galactic Police."
"My father..." began Erion, and Gant cut her off as well.
"General Dubois, while not complicit in any way, must have had an idea something was wrong. The Galactic Police are now the military force in the Galaxy. The roles have been reversed and the Marines have been reduced into enforcing Federation Law." He saw the anguish on their faces as this penny suddenly dropped. Thirty Seven stepped in to the argument.
"For several years now, high ranking Marine Officers, like General Dubois, have been sidelined or posted to offworlder planets like Terrell; cut off from mainstream politics and having less and less authority. While this was happening, officers loyal to the New Federation have been creeping into the High Command, promoting their associates to other positions of power." Gant nodded and continued,
"This situation will not be changed overnight, if at all, but someone must stand against the evil and corruption. The ruling classes are selfish and greedy and now there is nobody to keep them in check. If you join us, you will no longer be able to step back into your old world. Whatever happens now, that life is gone."
"We realise it's a big step," began Erion, "and we know there will be no going back if we decide to stay."
"The question is," put in Thirty Seven, "if you do not join us, what are you going to do? You cannot go back to the Marines and you will need other identities should you wish another form of employment. Here, you would be needed and welcome. The Federation is growing bolder every day and we need good people to block their plans." They all sat for a moment in silence.
"I haven't anything better to do," blurted Starfire. "I don't have anywhere else to go for that matter either."
"I made a promise to my father to carry on his fight; I'm with you." Erion spoke firmly, then she turned to look up at Delta Ten, who was standing behind her chair. "Del, as of now you are a free machine, like Thirty Seven. What do you want to do?" The android inclined his head in a graceful bow.
"I cannot change my basic programming, which is to care for your safety. I should therefor like to remain with you in voluntary service as your science officer." Erion smiled and motioned to Raan.
"Might be fun," he said. "Count me in. When's payday?" Starfire thumped him non too gently on the arm and Erion rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Hal?" she prompted. They all looked at Hal.
"I don't like the way things lie with the Federation, any more than you do but I don't do the team thing."
"It's your life, Hal," said Erion. "You live it how you want."
"We owe you a lift if nothing else," began Starfire, not quite keeping the disappointment out of her voice. "We'll take you wherever you want to go."
"Thanks," said Hal, standing up. "My old bunk free, Thirty Seven?"
"Take it, my friend," answered the tall black robot. "Ariadne is in the main control room. Please ask her to assign the large suite for our guests." Hal nodded to the others and walked from the room.
"I just don't understand that guy," said Raan, shaking his head.
"He is a very private man," said Thirty-Seven. He looked at them all in turn, saying, "Indeed, you must all be very special people for him to recommend you to us so highly."
"He did that, huh?" mused Raan.
"I spoke with him at length about you all when he brought Major Dubois to the Cantina. He said that, even considering you had only just met, you were the tightest small combat force he had seen and we would be foolish not to ask you to join us as a strike team."
"That is what you have in mind for us then, is it?" asked Erion.
"Something along those lines," put in Gant. "We are still gathering information at the moment."
"Information!" snapped Erion. "Father left vital information stored with Del. Thirty Seven, may I use your main computer? I'd like Del to hook up with it, please?" Gant looked towards Thirty Seven, who nodded his consent.
"Of course," he answered, turning to limp back to his desk."
"Hey!" began Tranter, "Do you think your smart ass android could fix up Thirty Seven? It must be years since he had an overhaul."
"Ask him yourself," said Erion. "He's a free machine now."
"I would be honoured," stated Del.
"Can I take it that you are all prepared to join our Alliance and comply with its requirements and rules?" asked Gant in a very serious manner. They all nodded and spoke their assent and even Delta Ten nodded gravely. "Very well, please follow me. They walked out of another door and followed Gant down a long, clean, well lit corridor. They turned left and went through another set of sliding doors into a large, white room. A raised platform at one end had several chairs on it and the whole wall behind it was comprised of a computer screen. The rest of the room was laid out like a restaurant, with several round tables, each holding ten chairs. The wall to the right held banks of computer terminals and the wall to the left carried several huge screens. Most of them were dark, but a few showed the view from the landing pads and several rooms in the complex. Elkrist and the Cloud brothers rose from one of the tables near the raised platform and Gant introduced them all.
"Welcome to the Alliance," said Elkrist. She took Tranter's hands. "I am sorry about Jemmi." Tranter looked down at his feet and nodded his thanks. It turned out that Raan and Jed Cloud had already met from a previous escapade, although each knew the other under a different name. There were broad grins and hard handshakes as he introduced his brothers to the grinning captain.
"Now," said Gant as they arranged themselves around a couple of tables, "Apparently, General Dubois has sent us some information." Erion motioned to Delta Ten.
"Del, listen carefully," said Erion, softly. "My father gave me two trigger words for you: 'Dorcas Hill'." The big screen on the far wall immediately lit up with a logo they had not seen before.
"The information is free," stated Delta Ten, seriously.
"What's that?" asked Erion. They shook their heads. The letters N, A, F and P were intertwined with two venomous snakes; the whole scene encased in a revolving holographic star map of the Aurian System. The words, New Aurian Federation of Planets, scrolled underneath in a rolling banner. Delta Ten turned to stare briefly at the screens on the wall and every one of them lit up to show images, videos and data. All eyes turned towards the screens to note the masses of information that flowed past their eyes. It was almost half an hour before anyone spoke again.
"This is amazing!" purred Elkrist, "we never realised how deep the corruption went."
"These names!" gasped Erion, "some of them are highly respected members of the council."
"And they'll all be crawling out of the woodwork," said Raan.
"If we work quickly," began Jed Cloud, "we could send our people to these planets and make this information known."
"It may already be too late for that, Jeddoh," said Gant. "There probably isn't anyone left who can do anything about it. By the looks of things, this coup has been planned for months and nothing has been left to chance." The door chimed and a young man in tech overalls walked in. He went over to Thirty Seven, bent low over where his ear would be if he had one and whispered a message. Thirty Seven nodded and the Ensign left the room.
"One of the Little Rocks brought a message over for Hal in the last dispatch. It seems that he has been offered another contract and has already left for the Cantina on a returning transport. He asked Ariadne to tell us that he can be reached through Tamara on Kessel."
"He could have said goodbye!" grumbled Starfire.
"He never does," sighed Elkrist. "He thinks it makes him moody and mysterious, but it's really just annoying." They all looked at young Buck Cloud, who had a hand held computer pointed at the screens, scrolling furiously through the information.
"What's up little brother?" asked Jed.
"That name, 'Tamara'; I've seen it here."
"Call it up," suggested Tranter, tapping out on his hand held. The screen filled with information and a life sized holograph of a well built Aurian man in expensive robes appeared and rotated in front of it. He was apparently a high born and ran the planet wide information and communication services, owning the rights to all the major broadcasting networks on Kessel and its surrounding planets. There were hints of criminal activities and associates on the other side of the law but no prosecutions. As they read on, it became apparent that the man had bribed or bought his way to the top and a couple of his rivals had mysteriously perished.
"He's one tough cookie," said Starfire. "What does he need Hal for?"
"He's had death threats," pointed out Elkrist. "Perhaps he wants protection. It's Hal's line of work."
"It looks to me like everyone else needs protecting from him," said Starfire.
"I believe Hal has worked for this man before," said Thirty Seven. "According to my memory banks, two years ago, his young nephew was kidnapped and held for ransom. Hal was hired to find the boy and pay off the kidnappers."
"I can imagine how he did that," muttered Raan.
"Perhaps that's all it is then," suggested Elkrist. "Just another job."
"I don't know," muttered Tranter, running long fingers through his thick, black hair. "There must be some Federation connection. I mean, what's the guy doing in the Federation computer files if he isn't working for them?"
"Oh, he's on the take, all right," said Raan. "Probably sending out propaganda on the network. Maybe that's all it is."
"Re-run it, Tran," suggested Starfire. "Let's go through it again in more detail. Maybe there's something we missed." They all stared at the screens, carefully reading the names, dates and places associated with the man. Starfire and Erion reached the same conclusion at the same time, gasping and pointing to the information that caught their attention.
Starfire at Traitors Gate Page 20