by Lee Watts
Sosimo's curiosity and greed were piqued, so he asked, "Uh, Jaiden, when he said fortune, did he happen to mention a number?"
"I remember he mentioned one time he found a relic worth twenty-five million credits."
Sosimo did some quick math and mumbled aloud, "Let's me see twenty-five million per statue, and there are twelve statues that's....," a wide smile crossed his face as he came up with the answer, "Three hundred million credits! A good start."
Going to the adjacent indention was another statue. This image was of a bearded man kneeling with his head bowed as if in prayer. A third of the figures in the room seemed to be depicting someone praying. Sosimo looked to Mei as she scanned the item. She looked up from the device and nodded, indicating similar results.
"Statues are good, but that's not the prize," Sosimo noted. "I bet the Vault Keeper put the treasures in that room in the back, come on," he said as he headed toward the back of the room.
As they walked past the central platform, which was now vacant, it prompted Mei's curiosity.
"What do you think the Ramillie wanted with that ring thing?"
"Don't know, don't care," Sosimo answered flatly as he continued to walk. "I'm not too interested in artifacts. They're neat, and all, but I want to see how much gold, and diamonds, and pearls, and other valuables the Vault Keepers stowed in here. Remember, the legend says this is 'The Vault where the riches of ages are stowed.' Now, how do we get in here, he puzzled upon arriving at the closed door.
"Yjr Erswa," came a voice behind them that startled the group.
"AHH," Sosimo shouted in surprise of hearing the voice. He turned and in relief noticed it was the ornately clad village chief they met on their first trip. "You ought to wear a bell," he protested.
"Noth comman don yarkipin."
"What's he saying?" Sosimo asked Mei.
Already getting her machine to work on the translation she read off the answer.
"He said, ‘Beyond is the weapon.'... I think."
"What do you mean you think?"
With a tilt of her head, she offered an alternative.
"It's either that or 'Be gone you're a weeping thong.' Take your pick."
"Hmm...," Sosimo responded. "Let's hope it's the first one. The weapon eh? Well, good. I promised to get that for the Realm king if he helped us out. We'll take care that later. Ask him where the treasures are."
"I'll try," Mei shrugged as she began programming her portable device. "But the syntax matrix isn't collating-"
"Techno-babble, Mei."
"Fine," she huffed, hit a few more buttons then activated the machine. A mechanical sounding voice emanated from it using words the pirates did not understand.
"Grye tema he yge pasures."
Based on the expression of the alien's face, he didn't understand the words either or was confused by what they meant. He gave Sosimo a curious look.
"Pasures?" he repeated inquisitively.
The pirate captain nodded encouragingly.
"Yes... pa... pasures," Sosimo repeated.
The man shrugged and motioned for them to follow. To Sosimo's surprise, the chieftain led them out of the Rotunda and back along the path toward the village. At a fork in the path, they veered away from the village and headed up a steep hill. Sosimo’s excitement built with each step. He was sure there must be so much treasure that the rotunda couldn't hold it all, and they had to store it someplace else. It would not have surprised him if when they crested the hill and beheld the other side to see an entire mountain made of gold, or mounds and mounds of jewels and other valuables. Therefore, upon reaching the apex of the summit and gazing at the other side, he was flabbergasted to see only flat green land full of crops and herds of local animals.
"Pasures," the alien said and held out an arm gesturing to the land below them.
Sosimo stared at the land for a moment in shocked disbelief then a thought came to him. Turning to the man, he spoke loud and slow.
"No, not pastures! Treasures! T r e a s u r e s," he enunciated over exaggerating the mouthing of the word as he sounded it out as if somehow that would help. "Where are the treasurers?"
"Ah, yge ta zurs," the alien said in comprehension.
"Yes, yes," Sosimo repeated excitedly. "Ta zurs."
Again, the man motioned for them to follow. He led them back down the hill and to what appeared to be the village center. There was a bell there, which he struck three times creating a loud gong that could be heard across the valley. Standing right by the bell when it was stuck, Jaiden thought he might not be able to hear again, but at least the rest of the people heard and they began to assemble.
Sosimo and party were curious why the chieftain was calling the people to a meeting but figured it was maybe because there was so much treasure, they were all going to be needed to carry it.
"They sure are a curious bunch," Jaiden noted. "So many different colors of skin and facial features."
"Yea," Mei remarked. "You don't usually see that in an isolated culture. Trust me, we've been a lot of places. I know."
In a few minutes, it looked as if everyone who was going to answer the summons was there.
"Yge ta zurs," the chief announced.
Sosimo let out a sigh of disappointment.
"No. How are we going to get through to these people?" he grumbled as he rubbed his artificial hand over his face. "I don't want to make a speech. I want to see the treasures. Mei, see what you can do with that translation gizmo again. See if you can find the word for treasures. Not pastures, not lectures... treasures. That's what we came all this way to find."
Mei sat there frozen staring at the varied faces of the villagers.
Sosimo could tell something was wrong. "Mei, you alright?" he asked.
"I don't think so, Captain," she answered.
"What is it? Listen, don't worry. We're going to figure out where the treasures are. It just might take a little time."
"I think I already know," Mei said, her eyes still focusing on the aliens.
"You do? Where?"
"Right there," she said as she pointed.
Sosimo turned to see where she was pointing, but couldn't make it out.
"The villagers are in my way. I can't see it. Where's the treasure?"
"Right in front of us. They... are the treasure." She turned to her captain and spoke softly. "When we got here, they asked if you were the Flt Kiiper... Vault Keeper and they call themselves the Zurs... treasures. What is more valuable to someone than their family? What would people have the Vault Keeper hide away so the Ramillie could never get to them - their children. Captain, these people are the great treasures."
Sosimo turned and looked at the diverse faces of the crowd. What Mei mentioned earlier about isolated civilizations was correct, and he knew it well. There wouldn't be this much variety in an indigenous society. These people were the descendants of races spread throughout the galaxy. There was no other explanation. The reality of it hit him like a punch in the stomach. He sat there dumbfounded as the thoughts came tumbling down on him as a crumbling wall. There was no gold, no jewels, no mounds of valuables. All the years of searching, the hardships, those lost along the way. He thought of Shen Lei and other friends. He looked down on his mechanical hand. Slowly he turned. In a daze, he began a slow, almost trance-like walk through the crowd.
Jaiden and Mei looked at each other. Jaiden moved to follow his captain, but Mei put a gentle hand on his shoulder letting him know she wanted to handle it alone. She pressed her way through the people and found Sosimo standing at the edge of the village path looking on the grand opening to The Vault.
Though she didn't say anything, Sosimo knew well the sound of his surrogate daughter's footsteps.
"I found it, Mei" he mumbled. "For a thousand years it was hidden, but I found it." His volume steadily rose as he continued. "It's been my life's work - my obsession. For generations, my family has looked, and after lifetimes of scouring the galaxy, I found it! I FINALLY FOUND I
T, AND THERE'S NOTHING HERE! Nothing but a village of primitives, and there's not anyone left alive who even knows they exist."
Mei came up beside him and placed her arm inside of Sosimo's then leaned her head against his shoulder. The act made Sosimo stop and think about her and what she must be feeling. Nearly her entire life was also spent on the same journey. He had lost a friend; she had lost a father. He leaned his head down on hers. She was the most important thing to him in the universe. With his other arm, he reached over and patted her hand that was holding onto him.
"It was fun," she said softly.
Sosimo thought on their many adventures and misadventures throughout the years, and a smile crossed his face as he gave a slight laugh.
"Yea, it was at that," he replied.
Looking down on his goddaughter he added, "Mei, you are my greatest treasure."
"There's something else," she said.
"Okay, you and the ship, but you're a close second," he jested.
She pulled away and gave him a playful shove.
"No, you big dolt. I mean the something else is those statues. Remember we're guessing they're worth three hundred million credits."
"Hey, that's right," Sosimo said, brightening up at the prospect. "It's not the trillions I was hoping for, but still, three hundred million does soften the blow. Of course, I've got to pay off The Hammer, fix the ship, split some of the profit with the crew..."
"Don't forget about that bounty on your head in the Ultari Federation. You've got to pay them back for breaking that urn that held the ashes of all their kings."
"How was I supposed to know there were windstorms that time of year?!"
"Anyway, I'm saying it's not a total loss. Plus, you'll go down in history. You'll be famous - the man who found The Vault."
"Fame is good, money is better."
"Don't forget about The Weapon."
"Oh yea," Sosimo said while realizing the situation may indeed be somewhat salvageable.
"That's got to be worth a fortune to somebody."
"Remember, you promised it to the Realm."
"Yea, but... fine," he said in resignation. "Go get Jaiden. Let's get that weapon thing and deliver it to King Lyons. Oh, and take some holo images of those statues in the rotunda so we can start finding buyers."
"Aye... Captain," she said and turned to retrieve Jaiden.
The three made their way toward the back of the rotunda where was the staircase and door leading to The Weapon. Covered in carvings of elaborate hieroglyphics, the door glistened as it reflected light from the room. Mei held out her portable scanner and ran a check of it.
"It appears to be made of crystal, stone, and some composites not on record," she said.
"That's all well and good," Sosimo said, "but how do we get it open?"
Mei shook her head indicating she didn't know.
"The answer must be here somewhere," Sosimo said.
With no levers, buttons or any other noticeable items to manipulate, they started to look about the room.
"What about this?" Jaiden said as he was then standing by the nearly chest-high pedestal that was just beyond the base of the stairs.
"Of course," Sosimo said as he and Mei came to Jaiden.
The top of the pedestal was angled away from the back door and was ornamented with thirteen alien symbols. Twelve of them comprised a circle with one emblem in the center. Three of the etchings on the ring were softly glowing. Mei reached for her scanner and used it to probe the alien device. After a moment she shook her head.
"Scanner's got nothing," she announced. "But if I upload this to the ship's computer, we might have more luck. It has a much bigger database."
"I don't think we need to," Sosimo said. Pointing to one of the glowing marks he added, "Look. This mark here matches the big one on that statue over there."
Indeed, the symbols were the same. As they checked the other figures, they found each of the main symbols corresponded to an identical one from the circle on the pedestal. That left only the thirteenth symbol in the middle.
"Okay, how does that help us?" Jaiden asked.
"How indeed?" Sosimo said as he considered the matter. "What's the same about the three glowing ones?"
Examining the trio of corresponding statues Jaiden noticed they all held different items. One had a sword, another a spear, and the third a bow. Each figure did have something else in common.
"They all have weapons, and they're all looking up."
Sosimo and Mei did a quick check and saw he was right.
"They look up, and the stairs go up," Sosimo said slowly as he tried to reason out the puzzle. "So, what if..." He stopped talking and pressed the center symbol of the ring.
The sound of stone moving against stone drew everyone's attention to the door at the top of the stairs, which was sliding upward.
"...they point to The Weapon," Sosimo said in completing his sentence. With a gleam in his eye, he led the way up the stairs with the two others following.
Stepping inside the dimly lit room, they found preserved there was only one item. It wasn't what they were expecting, but was what they were looking for - The Weapon. Boarding the shuttle, they took off and docked on the Fortune.
As the lightdrive engines of Sosimo’s ship flashed and the ship vanished, Crimson activated the thruster on his escape pod then proceeded down the crevasse to the Zur village. He knew LaRouche would soon return, and when he did, Crimson would finally shoot him. The greatest joy of Crimson's bitterness-filled life was the moment he shot his nemesis.
CHAPTER 27
"Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more." – Acts 20:38
Floating motionless in space, as a predator silently awaiting the approach of unwary prey, the H.M.S. Dauntless II was positioned between the incoming ships and the twin worlds of Theera-Enty.
"Here they come," warned the sensor operator.
"How many this time?" asked the flagship's second officer, Commander Miranda Iglesias.
"Reading five craft entering the system, Ma'am."
"Ours?" she questioned.
"Negative. Configuration and power emissions are alien."
"Everyone to stations," Miranda ordered. "Signal the Commodore."
"No need," said Commodore Harrison as he entered the bridge. "Give me a sit rep."
"Three more," she answered.
"Hail them," Harrison ordered, and the communications operator nodded, indicating a voice channel was open.
"This is Commodore Hayden Harrison, commander of the Dauntless. On behalf of His Majesty, King Lyons…" he blew out a puff of boredom before unenthusiastically continuing, "…I welcome you to the Theera-Enty system. An honor guard is on its way to escort you to a landing site, or, if you wish, will guide you to an orbital location. We are honored by your attendance, and hope you enjoy the gala."
Making a slashing motion across his throat, the Commodore signaled the transmission ended.
"How many is that anyway?" he asked.
"Those three put us over the four thousand mark," Commander Iglesias answered.
Hayden whistled softly in awe of the number.
"By the stars… four thousand nations," he marveled.
"Yes, and that's not counting the ones who couldn't make it because of distance or security reasons," Miranda added.
"Do you know how many worlds that represents?"
"No, Sir," she answered, frustrated with herself that she hadn't anticipated the question. "But I'll find out, Sir."
"No, Commander. It was rhetorical… relax."
"Yes, Sir… relaxing, Sir."
The Commodore tried to hide his amusement with the eagerness of his new second officer. Failing, he asked her to see to the honor guard escorts and excused himself from the bridge and back to his office.
Over the communication line in Ian's cockpit came a voice from the command center.
"Flight two, you are cleared for launch."
"Roger that, Ops. You ready, Dakota?"
"Ready? Does a Groviths yak like mattleberries?"
Ian wasn't sure how to answer that, or even what it meant. Seeing Dakota's ship moving toward the launch tunnel, he guessed it meant yes, and so edged his fighter into launch position as well.
"Yee-haaaw," Dakota shouted as they propelled from the super battlecarrier. "Son, I'm telling' ya, that never gets old."
"I beg to differ," Ian retorted flatly.
"Aw c'mon, Ironman. Loosen up. After all, we been through I'd think you'd appreciate my enthusiasm and superior skills."
"Superior skills?"
"Yea. I've saved your rear end more times than I can count."
"More than you can count? What is that, more than four?"
"Very funny. But seriously, I'm way better than you."
"No way, and I've saved you just as much."
"Well, I s'pose that's true enough, we make a good team me and you."
"You and I."
"Yea, anyway… still, not bad for a hick and a guy who irons his underwear."
There's was silence from the other end of the radio.
"Didn't know I knew 'bout that one did ya?" Dakota chuckled.
"Who told you?"
"Oh, a certain little birdie named Lieutenant Gilmore."
"Gilmore… oh no, from my basic flight training squadron. How did-"
"He lost a bet to me," Dakota said. "Don't worry, Ian. I've known for months how you got yur callsign. Yur secret is safe with me… pretty much."
"Pretty much?"
"Oh, I might be inclined to forget it altogether if …"
"If what? How much will amnesia cost me?"
"Not much, just you helping me with some stuff."
"What stuff?"
"The stuff I need to get on the royal escort squadron like you were."
"Huh?"
"I applied twice. They keep saying my flyin' is fine, but I don't 'project the persona of someone befitting the premier squadron.' Basically, they say I ain't got no class."
"Don't have any."
"Yea, but you're stuck up and know all that stuff. So, I'll keep your weird underwear thing hush, hush if you help me and don't tell everybody I ain't got class."