A Check for a Billion

by Vasily Mahanenko

  “The pirate code prohibits divulging the names of our clients,” I began to argue.

  “Do not treat me like an idiot, Surgeon. There is no pirate code! I want the name!” the adviser repeated with even greater irritation.

  I vacillated a little more, making a show of it, and then said:

  “Duke Narlin. He was the one who helped me get on board the cruiser.”

  “How and when could he do so if even I myself had no idea I would be traveling aboard this tub until the last possible moment?” the Precian asked incredulously.

  “Well as you just pointed out, you didn’t know. Others, especially others who happen to be tenth in line to the imperial throne were well aware. I imagine this whole thing was arranged a while ago.”

  I was going to insist on my side until the end. Since Narlin has been knocked out of the game for a long time, why not make him the scapegoat? The adviser’s face turned into an impenetrable mask, and only his dilated pupils suggested any doubt or shock. This was natural enough — the duke was almost the last person you could suspect of being a traitor.

  I frantically ruminated what to say if the adviser doubted my words and began arguing that Narlin had no motive — and why would he need a gift from the emperor anyway? But to my surprise, the adviser did not ask these questions at all.

  “Arrest Duke Narlin!” said the Precian loudly enough for the guards on the other side of the door to hear him. I hadn’t considered the possibility that we could be heard. I frantically replayed the conversation in my head and sighed with relief — I don’t believe I’d said anything important. After a couple of moments, the answer came through the speakerphone.

  “Adviser, Duke Narlin is not on board the ship. Our systems find no trace of him. We have discovered two corpses in the duke’s chambers. Guard Val, from the fifth battalion, and a servant of Sir Grandar.”

  I couldn’t help but start fretting again. The fact that the locals could see the disappeared bodies of the NPCs we’d killed was unpleasant news. There had been no mention of it in the game guides.

  “Have you examined the surveillance camera footage?”

  “The cameras have been disabled. We are currently working on identifying the reason.”

  I could not hold back a sigh of relief — Brainiac had cleaned up our traces in the system.

  “Where is the duke?” The adviser forgot all about the grenade in my hands and loomed over me as if he was about to thrash the truth out of me. Having put together two and two, I guess he decided that I had some more information.

  “Adviser, I don’t know anything more than you do. I am a pirate — and one who has his pride by the way. I am not a personal secretary,” I replied defiantly.

  “How did Grandar’s servant end up in Narlin’s cabin?” the adviser continued to pry. We had somehow reversed roles. In theory, I was supposed to be the one pressing him, demanding a code to the storage box that held the Oblivion. Nevertheless, I replied:

  “Your question is misdirected. I can only say what I saw. Narlin was threatening Grandar until Grandar agreed to his demands. Everything else does not concern me.”

  “Who killed the servant?”

  “I did. Narlin ordered me to do it. He wanted me to take his clothes and medallion.”

  “It’s not adding up, Surgeon. You are a pirate, and yet you’ve just betrayed your client quite easily. Doesn’t this dishonor you? What if I publish this conversation with you?” The Precian changed topics abruptly and began to threaten me again. I was ready for this:

  “My ability to access Hansa is at stake. I do not want to lose it, so I made a deal with you voluntarily. I hope you will meet me halfway. Without threatening my reputation. Narlin said he was going to leave the ship. Do not ask me how, I do not know.”

  “Adviser, we have detected an unauthorized launch. A scout! There is a Precian on board. We could not identify him, our monitoring system is malfunctioning.”

  I grew worried again. Either there is another team working aboard the cruiser or Eunice is improvising. Damn! I can’t even call her to clarify. I can’t put on my armor suit — I’m not the only one with EM grenades. Hell, I can’t even unclench my hand without this grenade going off.

  “Don’t let him escape!” the adviser ordered in a steely voice. “Stop the scout! If it refuses to obey — attack it!”

  “The ship is heading for the asteroid belt!” Everyone seemed to forget all about me and turned their attention to their own affairs. “Contact in ten seconds!”

  “I am granting you authorization to destroy the scout! The fugitive must not escape alive!”

  “Narlin has a binding,” I reminded just in case. “In a minute he will be reborn on his own planet, and you won’t be able to prove anything. He will deny everything, claiming that he was framed, and that he was never even aboard this cruiser.”

  “You will help bring him to justice!”

  “Me?!” My astonishment knew no bounds. “Have you forgotten who I am? A pirate, an outlaw who has no place in the Precian Empire. Stop constantly threatening me! What is my word worth against the word of a duke? No, adviser. I would rather give up on this job and return the money I’ve been paid than get involved in your court intrigues.”

  “And if you succeed in obtaining the Oblivion of Jarullah?” The adviser looked at me pensively. “Where and when are you supposed to hand it over to your client?”

  “I am to be contacted,” I replied, indicating with my tone of voice that I did not intend to delve into this topic. “I have no further information.”

  “Narlin has been playing with fire for a long time now.” It seemed that the adviser was talking to himself. I think that my story about the duke’s betrayal had found fertile ground in the mind of the Precian patriot. “He and Oleander both sought the removal of our ruler but we did not have evidence against the emperor’s nephew. And now this…Such an opportunity…Surgeon, you simply must help us!”

  “Why is that? You’ve just cut off my access to the Hansa Corp and threatened my reputation,” I recalled. “I don’t owe anything to anyone at the moment. Except for Narlin, but I will return the money to him.”

  “No!” the adviser began fretting. “There is no need to return anything to anyone! You will receive the Oblivion of Jarullah, but you will have to hand it over to Narlin in person. Only to him — no servants. Haggle, argue, threaten, do what you must, but insist on a personal meeting! Then we’ll grab him and tighten the thumbscrews.”

  ‘A personal meeting’ means that the adviser will either keep a close eye on me, or there is a beacon in the Oblivion that will track my movements. Either way, carrying this item around should be hazardous to my health.

  “What do I get in return?” I asked in turn. “I’m not big on charity.”

  “We will graciously restore your right to visit Hansa once a day,” the adviser replied.

  “You give me a guarantee that nothing will hurt my reputation, grant me access to the third tier upgrades list and give me another five percent discount on Hansa products,” I immediately countered. “Otherwise, I wash my hands of this whole thing here and now.”

  “I will need to discuss this with the emperor.” The adviser cast a sidelong glance at the grenade in my hand. “And for that, I will need my armor suit.”

  “No discussions, adviser. Either you make a decision here and now or no deal. I know that you have all the authorization you need. The emperor trusts you like he trusts himself!”

  The adviser looked at me angrily but no sooner did he calm himself and make his decision, than we received the next bit of news.

  “There is trouble! Adviser, sir! Sir Oleander has vanished!”

  “What do you mean, vanished? Where did he vanish to? Why have I not been notified?” This new blow was too great for the adviser and he simply collapsed into the nearest chair.

  “The guards have been killed, the brig is empty. The recordings from the surveillance cameras are corrupted.”

 
; The adviser’s helplessness lasted only a few seconds. Composing himself, he began to issue orders:

  “Locate the human named Nurse. She should be somewhere on the cruiser. Organize a control center. I want reports every five minutes. Turn the ship upside down!”

  “Hold it!” I slowly uncurled one finger, indicating that I was about to blow us all up. What is Eunice doing? What does she want with this Precian? “Adviser, we weren’t done talking!”

  “We are done talking, Pirate Surgeon. On behalf of the Precian Empire I hereby contract you to perform a secret mission. Did I miss any of your terms?”

  New mission available: Double Agent. Description: Give the Oblivion of Jarullah to your client and notify the third adviser of the Precian Empire. Rewards for completion: daily access to Belket; access to the third list of Hansa updates; -15% on Hansa equipment. Penalty for failure: Access to Belket will be revoked forever. Deadline: 7 days. Do you wish to accept this mission?

  “It’s all there. I accept.” I glanced over at the grenade in my hand, while the Precian shook his head disapprovingly.

  “You will be allowed to leave the cruiser unhindered. You can put your grenade away. I never believed you would use it. The Pirate Surgeon that I know is made from a different type of stuff. I am sorry that you betrayed the interests of the Precian Empire for a passing fancy. You didn’t end up helping the Delvians and you set yourself up too. We know that you managed to steal the crystal and the pedestal. We will not continue to work with such an unreliable partner.”

  The adviser stepped over to one of the strongboxes in the vault and took out a jewelry box. An ordinary, plain, wooden, entirely unremarkable jewelry box. My engineer could make a hundred of these in minutes.

  “I want to know everything you know about Nurse.” The adviser handed me the box, but did not let go.

  “I have little information. We met on a training planet, traveled together to meet the emperor, then I fell ill, and when I woke up, she was already gone. Where she went is not a question I can answer.”

  “Adviser, there is no trace of a human named Nurse on board.” A note of bewilderment sounded in the reporting voice. “We studied all the cameras and searched most of the premises. The human you ordered us to find is not on this vessel.”

  “This is some kind of nonsense!” The Precian exclaimed, outraged. “What’s going on here? Why do people keep disappearing from this ship? This is a disgrace! Is this a spaceship or a black hole?! How could two Precians and a human simply vanish?!”

  We emerged from the vault to these outraged cries and immediately ran into a very worried-looking captain.

  “I could not…I could not know…” said the unfortunate captain, stuttering. Sweat flooded his face, and his triple chin trembled with fear. Three disappearances and two infiltrations. Nothing of the sort had ever happened to him during his career and I didn’t have to try very hard to imagine how he felt. No doubt he was already praying that this was all just a nightmare he’d wake up from any moment now.

  “What I know is what will happen to you if you don’t find them. Surgeon, why are you still here?! Get off my cruiser! I have enough problems here without you underfoot!”

  “My ship. She needs to dock with the cruiser to pick me up.”

  “Did you hear that, Captain? Immediately issue docking access to Orbship Warlock. Surgeon is on urgent business. As for the rest of you, anyone want to explain to me what’s going on here?!”

  I tossed the jewelry box into my inventory, whipped out my marine armor and jumped into it, finally feeling like I was coming back home. This game is way more enjoyable when you have a reliable barrier of raq between you and the rest of the gameworld. Eunice’s voice sounded in my headset.

  “You’re back online at last, Lex. I’m outside on the cruiser’s hull, will you pick me up?”

  ‘Why even bother making a plan if no one ever sticks to it?’ I asked myself a purely rhetorical question.

  Chapter Three

  A short while later, I found myself standing in the main hangar of the Precian cruiser, impatiently barking orders at my various subordinates.

  “Brainiac, give me a sitrep. Have you received permission to dock?”

  “Yes, Cap’n. Everything is in order, I can head your way.”

  “Wonderful! First pick up Eunice and the Precians with her. Set your flight approach near our breaching point. Fly as close as you can without raising any suspicions. Is that clear?”

  “Crystal clear, Captain. I’m on it!”

  “Eunice, are you in position?”

  “Well, yeah, I’ve been here a while now.”

  “You will only have one chance so make sure to coordinate with Brainiac. You can’t miss your jump! Jump directly at Warlock — the engineer will catch you.”

  “Should I jump alone or with the rest? There are three others here with me.”

  “Everyone jumps, obviously. Fasten them to yourself with something or have everyone hold each other’s ears or something. Remember, you cannot fire your thruster, otherwise they will notice you. Brainiac won’t be able to brake very well. Anyway, I’m counting on you! After that come pick me up and we can go home.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed some movement at the far end of the corridor and turned my head. The cruiser’s crew suddenly began scurrying about in a panic. It was like the emperor himself had appeared for a surprise inspection. The soldiers clambered into their armor suits, while the captain came on over the intercom and began ordering all the passengers back to their cabins. I looked out of the nearest porthole and saw a squadron scramble from the cruiser and take up a defensive formation. I had a bad feeling about this.

  “Brainiac, what do you see?”

  “What do you mean?” the ship’s computer asked puzzled and then went quiet for a second. “Trouble, Captain! Three cruisers and thirty destroyers have entered the system! Pirates!”

  “Brainiac, get us out of here!” I ordered immediately, trying to think of a reason for why pirates would suddenly ambush a cruise ship deep in Precian space. “Can you break through?”

  “Three cruisers? Hmm…” came the computer’s underwhelming response. “It will take some work. Of course I could risk it but…”

  I see. Despite the upgrades, the orbship still remained an ordinary scout. According to the current vessel food chain, this placed Warlock a little above a frigate, yet well below a destroyer. And here I was calling for a standoff with three cruisers at once? No thanks. We could flirt with one, assuming I was on board. But at the moment Brainiac had calculated everything correctly — taking a risk like this without the captain on board wasn’t worth it.

  “Okay, maintain your position. Eunice, you will have to sit tight and enjoy the view.”

  “What view?” my wife countered. “The one of the container, the hole in the hull and the two armor suits? Their armor never vanished.”

  “Use your imagination, my love. I’ll be back in a bit — I need to deal with the locals here,” I reassured her. “I’ll go find out why the hell the pirates have decided to attack this cruiser.”

  “Keep me posted,” was all I heard in response.

  It was as if the ship had been abandoned. The passengers had been escorted to their cabins, and the crew members were all either at their battle stations or out in space. Everyone was busy, so I reached the captain’s deck without incident.

  “Stranger on the bridge!” As soon as I entered, I heard a warning cry.

  “Arrest him and take him to the brig. He is a pirate spy!” the captain instantly shot back. The fat Precian had really lost his marbles. A security guard popped up out of nowhere and pointed his blaster at me. Yet still faster responded a small utility droid: The barely noticeable critter zipped out of the wall and without any further ado stuck two electrodes right into my foot. I felt a short sharp shock and then went tumbling out of my armor suit, which collapsed next to me in a shapeless heap.

  “In the name of the Precian Empire
you are hereby placed under arrest!” said the guard. I didn’t have time for him though. I darted back over to my armor suit and quickly placed it into my virtual inventory. Was I about to give up a legendary item? Never! Then again, this little maneuver ended with a change of poles for me — that is, I went tumbling upside down. The guard’s blaster had a built in manipulator, which, fortunately, he used a second too late to stop me from saving my armor.

  “To the brig with him!” The captain repeated his order and turned back to the bridge’s giant projection screens. One quick glance at them was enough to see that the cruise’s situation was a bleak one indeed. The entire screen had filled with a swarm of red dots denoting Precian destroyers and fighters. Red meant that they had been destroyed. I didn’t get a further look. The door to the bridge returned to its place, and I was dragged along a narrow side corridor. There was no thought of resisting. I just tried to shield myself from taking any painful blows against the walls. Life without an armor suit was sad and painful.