The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1

by Sam Lippert

  “Remi, Omany, this is Max.” Daniels said between bites.

  “The feline introduced herself to me already.” Omany said. “She said you were a good servant, and could always be trusted to keep her well fed.” Omany grinned.

  “So you speak feline?” Nathan asked the old man.

  “Verstaten teaches communion with all of God’s creatures through knowledge of self. Once the self is fully known, all others become equally transparent.” The old man returned to eating. He was using chopsticks, which he must have brought on board himself.

  “This is delicious, old man. You didn’t have to, but I’m glad you did.”

  “Verstaten also teaches that no man should be idle when he can work for the benefit of others.”

  Nathan had finished his lunch, and took a sip of his coffee. “Have you ever been to Rhadasia, Remi?” he asked.

  The princess paused from her lunch and shook her head.

  “What do you know about the place?”

  Remi swallowed, took a drink of water, and spoke. “Dominant life form, intelligent lizard-like people about one-half the size of humans. Generally quadrupedal, they rear up on their hind legs when they need to use their hands, balancing with their tails. I have met with their diplomatic delegation in Kurufet a number of times and they have always been very polite, but like most humans they give me the willies on a subconscious level.”

  Nathan looked into her beautiful eyes. “Good so far, now think like a trader.”

  “Let’s see, major import is Halifren gems, which are somehow tied to their procreation, even though the gems are not indigenous to Rhadasia.” She looked quizzical. “How does a species come to rely on a product from off-planet for a need as basic as procreation?”

  “The way I heard it, the first spaceship to find Rhadasia was carrying a few of them. This was about two hundred years ago and the Rhadasians weren’t even close to space flight. They still aren’t, by the way. Anyway, the human crew had Halifren gems, which they considered baubles. They traded and gave them to the locals. Next time a human ship landed, that was the only thing the Rhadasians asked for. How and what they use them for is still one of the best kept secrets in the galaxy.”

  Remi continued, “As you alluded to in your story, the Rhadasians aren’t very technologically advanced. What little technology they do have they received from outside sources. Because of this, their exports are basic handmade items, but of very high quality. They have an extreme population problem due to the size of their litters and the improvement of their living conditions. This leads to an active, legal, government-sponsored slave trade.” She paused and looked concerned. “Nathan, we aren’t going…”

  “Absolutely not!” Nathan replied. “I don’t trade in slaves and I never will. Slaving is nasty business, especially when it’s legal.” He finished his coffee.

  “So what cargo will we be getting on Rhadasia?”

  “I usually decide that in the marketplace. I look around, talk to people, and then go with what feels right,” Nathan replied. “However, in this instance, this trip to Rhadasia is part of a plan I put together a few years ago, and I am hoping what I need will be available at a good price. The plan is a little 'out there' so I'm not quite ready to part with the details.” He got up to leave.

  “Omany, once again, thank you for the excellent lunch.”

  Daniels headed to his cabin. On the way he paused and checked the ship’s status in the control room. Everything seemed on track. In about sixteen hours the ship would spin and begin decelerating to the null point. He instructed the autopilot to notify him thirty minutes before that time, and continued to his cabin.

  Nathan changed for his workout, bringing out of storage little used workout clothes. Normally he would work out in just his skivvies. That kind of routine change was part of the reason he didn’t take on passengers often. He made his way to the gym and worked through a mildly strenuous routine, working up a nice sweat.

  He was just about finished when Remi and Omany came in. She was dressed in a form fitting leotard in lavender, giving Nathan the best look he had gotten at her body. He tried not to stare, and continued into another weight routine. Omany led the Princess through some stretches on a large mat that dominated the center of the room. Nathan couldn’t help but watch as she contorted her body into positions like he had never seen. Talk about flexible! He found himself sweating, and not just from his workout.

  The pair got up and each retrieved a quarterstaff from the wall. They returned to the center of the room, bowed to each other, and began to spar.

  Remini moved first. The staffs connected in an easy left, right, left motion. Omany had obviously anticipated the opening. His staff went down for a leg shot, which was deftly blocked by Remi. Bracing herself with her staff, she did a high sweeping kick which Omany ducked to avoid. He aimed a left thrust at her abdomen, which she parried, jabbing quickly with the right of her staff. Move and counter move continued as the pair picked up speed. It was obvious they sparred often, and had learned to anticipate each others moves. Remi was working up quite a delicious sweat, and was beginning to breathe heavy, while the old man looked as if he was strolling through the park. After about twenty minutes the pair stopped, satisfied to call it a draw. They bowed.

  Nathan stood up and clapped. “Quite an impressive performance!”

  “Thank you, sir” Remini replied.

  “Let’s see how you do with someone whose moves you don’t know quite so well.” He reached a hand out to Omany who tossed him his staff.

  He strode to the center of the mat and faced her. She began to bow. He immediately swept her legs with his staff, knocking her flat on her back, before she could recover, he had the butt of his staff at her throat. She glared at him, nostrils flaring.

  “You cheated!” Remi said in what could only be described as a snarl.

  Nathan had never felt a pain like having this woman angry at him. He moved his staff and reached for her hand to lift her up. “First rule in a real fight, Princess, is that there are no rules. You are there to “do unto” the other guy before he “does unto” you. If you aren’t ready for that when the time comes, you can end up very dead.”

  She took his hand, and he could see her face soften a little. He faced her and started to bow to signify the end of the match. Remi’s staff connected with the side of his face.

  'I suppose I deserved that,' Nathan thought as he lost consciousness.

  * * *

  He felt, rather than smelled, her scent as he regained consciousness. He could distinctly feel her presence over him. Her sweet voice calling out to him. “Nathan, Captain Daniels, please wake up.” An uncontrollable smile flashed across his face, and was immediately lost because of the still receding pain. He opened his eyes and saw her face go from concerned to enthusiastic. It made his heart skip a beat.

  An alarm sounded, saving them from a kiss they would both have lived to regret.

  Nathan raced to the control deck, with Remi on his heels.

  “What is it?” She asked. All the monitors and screens were flashing in time with the alarm.

  “It’s a collision avoidance warning.” Daniels sat down and started taking in the data on the monitors. He flipped a switch, silencing the alarm so he could think. “Looks like we have another ship heading to our null point. The problem is they are likely to hit us before either of us gets there.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Remini said, pointing out the obvious. She continued, “For that to happen by accident, they would have had to be following our exact trajectory, only trying to reach the null point faster than we are.”

  “Exactly.” Nathan was already activating shields and weapons as Remini strapped in. She looked at him quizzically.

  “This class of ship doesn’t have weapons.”

  “Another of my modifications,” he winked at her. “Even for an honest trader, they come in handy now and then.”

  “Do you really think they will be necessary?�
��

  Nathan glanced down at the tactical display, he still had a few minutes to explain things.

  “Here are the scenarios, as I see them,” he explained, one eye on the range indicator. “One is the unlikely event that you mentioned, in which case they are just as worried as we are, and this is nothing more than a cosmic game of ‘chicken.’” Her brow furrowed, as she tried to place the reference.

  “Two: pirates trying to hit us before we jump. However, pirates usually want plunder and tend to strike at the null points when a ship is barely moving.”

  “What else?”

  Nathan could see the slightest flicker of fear in those deep, dark eyes. As if she knew what he was going to say.

  “Somebody knows you are on board, and wants your demise to look like an “accident” or “attacked by pirates.” Nathan donned a headset. “Let’s see what we can find out.”

  “Spacecraft Nora to unidentified spacecraft: we show you on a collision course. Please respond.” Nathan swung the main guns around, attempting to target, but they were still out of range.

  “Well, there goes theory number one!” He shook his head. “Unidentified spacecraft, this is spacecraft Nora, we are a merchant vessel en route for transit point to Rhadasia. We do not intend to change course. We show less than 5 minutes to collision. Please respond.”

  It was almost time for the tough decision. In all likelihood, the enemy thought they were unarmed, as Remi had. This meant Nathan’s first shot would take them by complete surprise. The question was whether to use that surprise as soon as they were in range, or wait until they were fired upon. If they were professionals either way was chancy. Nathan decided that his “do unto others” rule applied. He depressed the fire button.

  One of the realities of space flight is that space battles are just plain boring. First, they can’t happen at all during FTL, for the same reasons that conventional drives are useless. Second, at sub-light speed ships point themselves in a direction and give a push, or a series of pushes, then midway they turn around and push in the other direction. Any change of course has to be planned for in advance. Hence, there was no dog-fighting, no evasive maneuvers, no attempting to out position your opponent. Changes in direction or speed that could accomplish that were just too expensive in terms of fuel. All this means is that a classic space battle is usually ‘continue to fire into each others shields until one shield collapses.’ That being the case, at times it all comes down to who got a microsecond advantage by shooting first.

  Nathan saw the glow in the monitor that showed his shots were connecting with the enemy’s shields. Moments later, the Nola’s shields lit up, as they were absorbing and dissipating energy.

  Nathan knew the shields would hold, they were military grade. What worried him was if there would be a resolution before a collision. The ships were close enough now that anything he did to avoid that would not only be expensive, but would likely be immediately countered by the enemy craft. It was obvious they had no intention of returning home. Or at the very least, they were prepared not to.

  He glanced over at Remi. She was fast at work on the computer, diverting every bit of energy to the weapons and the shields.

  “Don’t worry about the shields. If we can’t trash them in the next fifteen seconds, its not going to matter!”

  The collision warning indicator was counting backwards from fifteen, when it reached six, the other craft’s shields flared up and collapsed. The other ship was not far behind in disintegrating.

  CHAPTER III

  Remi's picture perfect landing at the Rhadasian spaceport signaled the end of a voyage that was devoid of real excitement, which was good, as excitement during FTL travel usually means you don't make it to your destination.

  There was only one city on Rhadasia, and it had grown up around the spaceport. While this was generally true on newly colonized worlds, as the world grows, the city tends to grow in one direction, away from the 'port, until eventually the city and 'port are two distinctly different entities. Two hundred years of regular visits from off world had led to the 'port on Rhadasia essentially being encapsulated by the city, giving the spaceport/city combination the look of a giant eye from above.

  Since the 'port was built by off-worlders for the use of off-worlders, there was enough technology available on site to see to it that ships could be re-fueled and re-supplied. Nathan tasked Omany with the resupply operations, and asked Remi to accompany him as he headed to the cargo hold.

  “As you mentioned a week ago, the 'people' of Rhadasia have very large litters. The females create a nest, and will lay literally hundreds of eggs, which will be fertilized by the male. After fertilization, the male then buries the nest, and both mom and dad move on. Some months later, the eggs hatch, and the young work to dig themselves out of the nest, killing and eating each other on the way out. This reduces the number of young by fifty percent, but there are still at least one hundred young Rhadasians that survive this stage. As you can imagine, this leads to a total disregard for the young, and a culture that can be very brutal.” Nathan turned to Remi. “This is about the most I can tell you to prepare you for what you are about to see, and it certainly isn't enough.”

  Nathan pressed the button that started the cargo ramp lowering, and stopped it when it was about half-way to the ground.

  “Change your mind?” Remi asked.

  “No. If we were to lower the ramp all the way to the ground, in the time it took us to walk down the ramp and close up the ship behind us, the hold would be so full of young Rhadasians that the only way we could be rid of them would be to open the hold to space after we lift. Not something I really care to do, if I can avoid it.” The pair walked to the end of the ramp and jumped off, tiny lizards scurried out of the way in an effort to avoid being crushed as they hit the ground.

  The little Rhadasians were everywhere. They covered the ground like a living carpet, and you could see them scurrying up the sides of buildings and up lampposts. The young lizards start life tiny and non-sentient. The ones that survive grow larger and smarter over time. Just before puberty Rhadasian young have roughly the intelligence of an Earth dog, but by the time they finish puberty they are as intelligent and cognizant as any other adult Rhadasian.

  Although they are not sentient, the young lizards are fully capable of survival, and are left to their own devices. The ones that make it to puberty are then educated and fully integrated into society, those that don't, end up dead. With every generation the number of Rhadasians who make it to adulthood increases dramatically, both because of the increase in the safety and technology of the society, and the decrease in the natural predators of the Rhadasian young.

  Nathan began to stride casually in the direction of the Spaceport Tavern, but quickly noticed that Remi was not keeping up. He looked behind and saw her struggling to move without stepping on any of the tiny lizards.

  “Problem?” he called back.

  “How do you move without stepping on anybody?” Remi responded.

  “Just walk.” Nathan replied. “Ninety-five percent of the time, they will move to avoid being stepped on.”

  “And the other five percent?” Was her response.

  “Natural selection.” Nathan waited another beat, and watched as a look of seriousness spread across Remi's face, then she just started to walk forward, and quickly caught up to the Captain.

  It was only a short walk to the Tavern, and both Nathan and Remi managed the walk without flattening any Rhadasians. This particular establishment was (as were the best bars in the galaxy) run by a human. Humans seem to have a knack for the bar industry, even though they were not the only race to have discovered the joy of fermented sugars. As the pair sat down, the owner came over.

  Floyd was a large man, so large he made Nathan look like a Rhadasian by comparison. The size of his biceps led one to believe he could successfully arm wrestle a robot. He wore a patch over his left eye, which he lost a couple of years ago breaking up a bar fight. Had his e
stablishment been on a more advanced world, he could have had it re-grown. But not on Rhadasia.

  “Nathan Daniels! Haven't seen you in ages! I see you have put your daughter to work!” He chuckled, nodding in Remi's direction. “Actually, I take that back, there is no way a man as ugly as you sired a woman as beautiful as this.” He took Remi's hand and made a big production out of kissing the knuckle of her index finger.

  “Floyd, you old weasel.” Nathan retorted. “This is Remi, my new apprentice. She needed passage off-planet, but she couldn't afford it, so she agreed to work as my apprentice for a while.”

  “My sympathies, Miss Remi.” Floyd grinned.

  “What the Captain neglects to tell you,” Remi chimed in, “is that the apprenticeship was negotiated only after I turned down his first proposal, which he insisted was the “standard fare” for those without the financial means to pay for passage.”

  At this, Floyd guffawed, slapping the bar and shaking it from end to end. “Rest assured, however hard he works you, you made the right choice!”

  “You are not the first to tell me that!” Remi said with a sly smile.

  “Floyd, what new poison do you have on tap today?”

  “I actually just received a shipment of whiskey from Dixie. I'm quite sure you'll like it. May be a bit on the strong side for the little lady, though.” Floyd nodded in Remi's direction. He lifted a shot glass to the bar, and filled it with an amber liquid.

  Rising to the challenge, Remi grabbed the glass and downed it. Nathan watched her face. There was a slight flicker of distaste in her eyes, but that was all.

  “So, what are you hauling this time, Nathan?” The barkeep asked.

  “Halifren gems,” Daniels replied. Floyd let out a long whistle.