Star Wolf (Shattered Galaxy)

by David G. Johnson

  “You’re wrong on this one, Twitch,” Molon said, shaking his head emphatically. “She’s been with us almost a year now and we’ve been through plenty of scrapes. Mel ain’t cracked yet.”

  Twitch laughed. “She’s a comms jockey, Molon. I’m not talking about patching through messages; I’m talking about really coming under fire.”

  “She’ll be fine,” Molon said through gritted teeth. “But since Mel isn’t on the away mission in the morning, I’m guessing she is not the focus of this hypothetical Charlie Foxtrot.”

  “No, that would be your other darling, our resident psychopath.”

  “Voide?” Molon asked with a shrug, sensing the direction this conversation was heading.

  “Do you have another psychopath in the crew you haven’t told me about?” Twitch said, raising an eyebrow.

  “Voide’s battle-tested. So what am I missing?” Molon was almost afraid to ask. When Twitch got like this, she wasn’t likely to back down easily.

  “She resents authority and restriction. Heck, she only obeys you because you let her do whatever she pleases almost without exception.”

  “That’s a load of bull,” Molon growled, half under his breath. “Besides, she’s not on a diplomatic mission tomorrow. She’s doing a straightforward undercover infil/exfil. She won’t be talking to anyone but the Doc, most likely.”

  Twitch harrumphed and set her drink on the table as she wagged a finger in Molon’s face.

  “Don’t play coy, Lobo. Undercover or no, you know full well Tede’s regulations against non-humans are going to grate on her. She’ll be scouring the horizon for any excuse to out herself and flaunt it in the face of authorities. She’s likely to get us kicked off this rock before we even have a chance to get paid.”

  “Come on,” Molon said shaking his head, but half fearing Twitch was right. “Voide will do her job. Sure she gets to chafing when people try to bind her up, but she knows the drill. Besides, the call’s already been made. What would you have me do?”

  “Think of something, anything, to give her a reason to be on this ship, or with you at the port. Pick any one of a dozen human marines to escort the doctor home and back. But if you send her on this mission, you are just asking for trouble.”

  Molon set his glass down on the desk, grabbed the arms of his chair, and exhaled a long breath.

  “In all our years together I can count on one hand the number of times you’ve misread a situation.”

  “Darn, straight,” Twitch said, nodding.

  “But this is my call. Who knows how many locals might be involved with Dawnstar. Sure we’ve got some good marines, but you can’t honestly sit there and tell me there is another person on this ship, the two of us included, that the doc would be safer with if things go all pear-shaped.”

  Twitch shook her head and drained her glass. Her silence was affirmation enough.

  “Yeah,” Molon continued. “I thought as much. Look, Twitch, I appreciate you coming to me. I rely on your input, but you’re wrong about Voide. She’s been with us almost since the beginning and she hasn’t let us down yet.”

  Twitch laughed.

  “That depends on your definition of letdown.”

  “Aw, knock it off. Yeah, she’s volatile, and I won’t pretend she hasn’t made a few situations a lot more interesting than they had to be—

  “Interesting? That what you call it?”

  “Okay, chaotic,” Molon scowled, flailing his hands in frustration. “You happy?”

  “Better…still euphemistic.”

  “Whatever. Truth is I’d rather have her on my side making things chaotic than not have her around at all. She’ll behave.”

  Twitch stood and walked toward the door.

  “Okay, Lobo. It’s your call. But I’ve got that ‘I told you so’ all queued up and ready.”

  “Well pack it away for safekeeping. It’ll be a while before you need it.”

  “We’ll see,” she said as she opened the door to leave. “Good brandy, by the way.”

  “Glad you approve. I would get you some, but I figure why bother when you’ll just keep drinking mine.”

  “Good point. Good night, partner.”

  “G’night, Twitch.”

  If she turned out to be right on this, he’d never hear the end of it.

  Five – Unexpected Guests

  John entered the lower deck of Star Wolf’s shuttle bay, which housed the larger cargo STS. The smaller STS, which Molon had used to extract them from Ratuen, was docked on the upper level above them.

  As he approached the larger STS he observed a number of Star Wolf crew members milling about and prepping the shuttle for departure. A striking raven-haired human woman, her arms crossed, looking impatient, bearing a Lieutenant Commander’s insignia, stood near the entry hatch. She was dressed in a black jumpsuit of the type used by commandos on night runs, at least in the military holovids John had seen. He approached the woman and gasped as he realized why she looked so familiar.

  “Voide?” he asked, shocked that her gray skin and bright yellow eyes had been replaced by an even, light-tan skin tone with piercing green irises in the center of human-looking white eyes.

  “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem,” she answered, “as long as I don’t smile. These,” she said flashing her vampiric canines, “are a little harder to hide.”

  “Amazing,” John replied, his head reeling at the astounding disguise. “But how?”

  Voide looked at him like something she had just scraped off the bottom of her shoe. John stood up straighter, threw back his shoulders, and returned her gaze. He refused to wither beneath her condescending stare.

  “Keep up, pale,” Voide replied. “Molon told you I used to work for GalSec. Infiltration is a core survival skill for spies. Don’t worry, I’ll be out of this horrid, pale coloring and back to my beautiful gray complexion as soon as we finish up this house call on your xenophobic little ball of dirt.”

  Just then, Molon entered the cargo bay dressed in the hi-tech advanced boarding vac-suit he was wearing when they escaped Ratuen. The sergeant rank insignia had been removed, but otherwise it looked just as John remembered it.

  “Souvenir?” John asked, nodding at Molon’s attire.

  “You kidding me?” Molon replied, sweeping his hand in front of his suit as if it was on display and he was the salesman. “This is TL14 stuff. Can’t find gear like this very easily since the Shattering. I consider it a bonus, courtesy of Dawnstar.”

  John laughed. He supposed looting was just part of the mercenary trade. Molon was right, TL14 equipment didn’t come easy or cheap anymore on any non-core world. TL14+ medical equipment was something John had rarely even seen at conferences or trade shows. Since the Shattering, Tede had reverted to a self-sustaining tech level of six.

  John sometimes regretted how badly the Shattering had impacted the technological and economic structure of the galaxy. Post Shattering, star systems had been divided into those which served as home bases for the megacorps, called core systems, and everybody else, now called frontier worlds even though many were deep in the heart of Humaniti space. Frontier systems were only useful for strategic location or raw resources, but otherwise were left to fend for themselves. Having studied and done his residency in the core Sarren system, the high-tech lifestyle and abundant wealth didn’t seem like they were in the same galaxy as struggling frontier worlds like Tede.

  Interstellar trade, so much a hallmark of the hundred and thirty-eight years of the Halberan Dynasty, had almost collapsed completely post-Shattering. This was doubly true on worlds like Tede, located so close to a contested border. Pre-Shattering, cooperative economics were the order of the day. In the eight years since, self-sustaining had become the mantra in frontier regions throughout the sprawl of Humaniti space. The prosperity of the Humaniti Empire had been killed by blocked trade routes, scorched earth warfare, and the selfish greed of the megacorps.

  John’s musing was cut short as the newly-humanize
d security chief brushed some dust flecks off Molon’s shoulder.

  “It looks great on you, captain,” Voide said, snapping John back to the moment. “You don’t even have to cut a hole in the back for your tail.”

  Molon scowled, and then let it slip into a grin.

  “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find Lubanian fitted armor outside of Lubanian space? You tailless sophonts don’t exactly go out of your way to stock tailed vac suits.”

  John chuckled at the exchange, but was anxious to get back to his home. Most of the crew appeared to be the the final stages of loading the STS. John did a quick mental recheck of his own but could not think of anything he forgot to handle.

  “Are we departing soon, captain?” he asked.

  “Now good with you, Doc?” Molon asked, motioning toward the STS’s entry hatch. “We will have you dirtside by midafternoon.”

  John liked that “Doc” had become almost a de facto call sign for him. It made him feel more like a part of the crew. He certainly preferred it to the pejorative “pale” which most non-human sophonts used as slang for humans, and which seemed to be Voide’s preferred manner of address for him.

  Soon the STS, with its resupply crew, Captain Hawkins, and John’s disguised escort, was wending its way toward Tede’s surface. The shuttle ride went smoothly, and they had received the landing clearance codes from the governor’s office just as Ben had promised. Soon they touched down at the starport, located about four hours by surface transport outside Elucia City proper. An express mag-rail train could reach the city in twenty minutes, but John wasn’t going to the city.

  “Okay,” Molon said as the hatch opened.” You kids run along and stay out of trouble. The crew will take care of resupply while I haunt whatever passes for a bar in this starport and wait for our payday.”

  “You got it boss,” Voide answered. “Grab your ruck, pale, and let’s hit the road.”

  John started to ask what a “ruck” was when Molon grabbed his shoulder and turned him to look into the captain’s eyes.

  “Straight home and straight back, Doc. No sightseeing. I don’t want you in the wind any longer than necessary.”

  “No problem, captain,” John said, nodding. “As scintillating as I find Voide’s company, I’ll try and rein in my wanderlust. I just want to make sure the house is secure and grab a few personal things. We should make it there and back by dusk.”

  John angled toward the starport exit with Voide tight on his heels. Star Wolf’s security chief, in addition to her commando-like jump suit, had added a bandolier, slung from right shoulder to left hip, with some sort of mechanical device attached to the front of it. From her right hip swung a quiver with a dozen arrows. In her left hand she carried a long, sheathed, single edged sword with a black cloth-wrapped handle and matching duraplast scabbard. John’s curiosity got the better of him concerning her gear as they walked toward the starport exit.

  “You look like you are dressed for combat.”

  “And you look like a victim.” Voide snapped. “I prefer to be prepared. Is that a problem?”

  “You do know this is a peaceful hermit-world, right?” John replied with a shake of his head.

  “So?”

  “So, we are simple folk, farmers and craftsmen mostly. I’m afraid you won’t find much to fight hereabouts.”

  “Maybe so,” Voide responded, with cold steel in her voice. “But don’t forget, whoever snatched you off this rock was counting on simple folk. Should they return, they will find me considerably less peaceful.”

  John refused to let the matter drop. After all, this was his city and he was going to have to return here. What would people think of him going around with a hostile-looking female bodyguard armed to the teeth? John stopped walking toward the gate and turned to face Voide.

  “Look at you.”

  “Beautiful, ain’t I?” Voide teased.

  The comment made John flush slightly. He sighed and tightened his face. He had never wanted to hit a female this badly before in his life, but knowing who Voide was and valuing his life, John found restraint.

  “You’re practically a one-woman war party,” John said, motioning toward her sword and quiver of arrows. “I’m not even sure they are going to let you walk around in public like that.”

  Voide glanced at her accoutrements as though noticing them for the first time. She gave John a derisive smirk.

  “Look, pale, I’m touched by your concern, but if you are worried about me getting arrested, don’t be. I did my homework.”

  “Your homework?” John asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Yes,” Voide replied, pulling out her datapad and handing it to John. It displayed the section of Tede’s legal statutes dealing with legal and illegal weapons. “Your world prohibits energy weapons and automatic slug-throwers. Everything I am carrying is perfectly legal here.”

  John rubbed the back of his neck as he scanned the datapad. The legal codes did seem to allow for everything Voide was visibly carrying.

  “I suppose you did,” John said, his irritation growing but starting to realize he was not going to win this argument. “But what about that?” he said pointing to the odd device attached to the center of the bandolier. “That looks pretty dangerous and high tech. What is it, some kind of explosive or something?”

  Voide shifted her sword to her right hand and reached up with her left to detach the device from its cradle. With a snap of her wrist, the complex gadget unfolded and stretched from top and bottom into a black, metallic, high-tech bow.

  “It’s still legal, but more convenient than carrying around a wooden longbow. This is less conspicuous.”

  “Wow,” John marveled. “I’m a sporting bow-hunter myself. What kind of pull weight does that thing have?”

  “Adjustable up to thirty kilos,” Voide replied, flipping a switch on the grip. The bow once again collapsed and folded into a form she reattached to the bandolier.

  “You know something, Voide,” John quipped with a shake of his head as he resumed his march toward the starport exit. “You’re an odd person…and more than a little scary.”

  “You have no idea,” Voide replied, flashing him a close-lipped smirk, keeping her elongated Prophane canines concealed.

  They approached the exit port. John recognized the young officer manning the security checkpoint. That was one of the advantages to being a big fish in a low-population, hermit-world pond.

  “Hello Max,” John called out to the young man.

  Max was a spindly young man with slicked back black hair and a serious case of acne. He was dressed in a starport security guard’s uniform that looked at least one size too large for him.

  “Hey, Dr. Salzmann,” the young man answered, smiling and waving a hand in welcome as he recognized John. “I didn’t realize you had been off world. Welcome home.”

  “Thanks, Max,” John replied curtly.

  He had no desire to go into any more detail with the port security officer than was necessary. The fewer people asking questions right now the better. Unfortunately, Max was not so quick to rush unquestioningly through the entry logistics.

  “And your friend…” Max said, nodding at Voide.

  “She’s just that, a friend” John answered as he offered a mental prayer that Max would let the matter go at that. “You should have the authorization from High Governor Perry’s office in your system.”

  Max punched up something on his computer screen.

  “Sure enough, Dr. Salzmann, I’ve got it right here. Um, ma’am,” Max said, eyeing the sword in Voide’s hand. “Would you like to check that weapon into one of our convenient port lockers? They are normally two theocreds a day, but I would be happy to issue you a complimentary guest voucher. It will be perfectly secure until you return.”

  “No thanks,” Voide mumbled, keeping her mouth mostly closed to avoid flashing her fangs. “It is more secure with me holding it.”

  The young officer looked back and forth between Voide and
John, not quite sure how to respond.

  “It’ll be fine, Max. Everything is within Tede’s legal regulations,” John bluffed, hoping that Voide had been as thorough with her research as she claimed. “We are just making a quick run to my house to pick up some things and will be back shortly. Is there a ground vehicle available?”

  John’s ploy worked. With the transportation question the security officer was back in his comfort zone.

  “Certainly, Dr. Salzmann. PT or CUV?”

  “There was some construction out our way before I left. Road clearance might be a bid dodgy with a personal transport. Let us have a full-size cargo and utility vehicle, Max.”

  “You got it!” The youth entered some information into his terminal and passed a set of keys to John. “Take the dark blue CUV in spot six. It was recently serviced and I washed it just this morning. Should I bill Salzmann Pharmaceuticals?”

  “No, Max, this trip is not a business trip. Bill it to my personal Tede Central Bank account, if you would.”

  Max punched a few more keys on his keyboard.

  “Done and done. You’re all set. Have a nice trip, Dr. Salzmann.”

  John breathed a sigh of relief as he and Voide exited the starport proper and headed into the parking lot.

  They traveled for nearly two hours, bouncing lightly down the road in the large CUV. Tede’s lower gravity made for a floaty ride, but John was accustomed to handling a vehicle in this environment. Tede’s automobiles came standard with extremely dense undercarriage plating, giving them greater maneuvering stability.

  As they traversed the largely pastoral countryside between Elucia City’s starport and the city proper, John broke the silence that had engulfed them since leaving the starport.

  “Can I ask you a question, Voide?”

  “You can ask,” Voide replied, glancing sideways at John and crossing her arms. “Whether or not I answer depends on the question.”

  That sharp, snarky edge she projected both annoyed and intrigued John. He had made a few faux pas with her, but her disdain for him seemed out of proportion to any minor slips that might have set her off. No way around this but through it, he supposed.