by Aaron DeMott
Rrrark’s behind the next door, the ambassador should be with him. I think they’re being loaded onto a transport or something.
Bast reached out and tried to sense Rrrark. She thought she got a faint sense of presence, but she couldn’t hear him.
How do you feel about sneaking onto that transport? Nilre asked.
WHAT? Bast looked up at Nilre and tried to lower her tail. That didn’t sound like much of a plan to her.
We don’t know what condition Rrrark and the ambassador are in. Even if they’re both fine, Ambassador Kclntc won’t be able to move fast enough on land for us to get away. On top of that, I want to find out why they were taken in the first place, and that ship’s about to leave.
Bast thought for a moment. What she really wanted to do right now was go home where it was safe. She had chosen to be a Scout though, and it was her duty and responsibility to stop people like this. She took a deep breath. I don’t really want to, but if you think it’s the best thing to do…
I do. Wait here. I’ll find the power distribution box and blow the circuit. When the lights in the hanger go off, we’ll run up the loading ramp and find a place to hide on the ship.
Okay. Bast swallowed. This still didn’t sound like the best plan, but Rrrark was on that ship…
Nilre disappeared down the hallway. A moment later the lights went out, and Bast heard shouts of confusion from behind the door. Nilre ran up behind her.
Let’s go!
Nilre crashed through the door, grabbed it mid air, swung it around and knocked the two men in front of her out of the way. Nilre ran up the ramp and used the door to knock a man down before she hurled it at someone across the room who fumbled with a light switch. The door crashed into him and threw him to the floor.
Bast hurried to keep up as Nilre ducked down a side corridor on the transport and skidded to a stop in front of an access panel. She removed it and gestured for Bast to enter the crawlway, slid in after her and replaced the panel.
Chapter 7
Aboard a stolen pirate ship, en route to rendezvous with the Goddard
Tomed groaned and rolled over. The comm unit next to his bunk continued to beep. Why did someone always have to interrupt his sleep?
He sat up and hit the button to activate the unit. “Tomed here.”
“You wanted me to wake you when we met up with the Goddard.” The comm added a hollow ring to Jake’s voice. “They just hailed me. We’re supposed to power down and prepare to be boarded.”
“Very funny. Why didn’t you tell them who we were?”
“It’s more fun this way, mate.”
Tomed groaned and slapped off the comm unit. He dressed and headed to the cockpit. By the time he got there, Jake had started to guide the ship into the Goddard’s shuttle bay. Tomed sat at the navigation console and double-checked the approach vector. Tomed winced as they entered the shuttle bay.
Jake laughed and clapped him on the back. “You that nervous about my flying?”
“Well, considering you’re drunk almost every time I see you...”
“Hey now.” Jake tried to look hurt. “You know I don’t drink when I’m working!”
Someone rapped on the hull and shouted at them. “Come out with your hands up!”
“I should tell them to throw you in the brig,” Tomed muttered.
“Aw, come on. You can’t take a little joke?”
Tomed rolled his eyes and walked down the corridor to the hatch. He punched the button and waited for the hatch to swing open.
Someone again yelled for them to exit the ship with their hands up.
A squad of marines knelt at the bottom of the ramp, blasters pointed at him. One of them stood and lowered his blaster.
“Psygen Tomed?”
“Hello, Major Hood.”
Major Hood waved a hand toward the rest of his men and ordered them to stand down. “What are you doing here, sir?”
“That’s a long story.” Tomed rolled his eyes. “The short version is we hijacked this ship to see who wanted the stolen supplies. Is Captain Trenton available? I really need to talk to him.”
“I’ll let him know you’re here right away, sir. If you could please wait in your regular quarters?”
“No problem. Thank you, Major.”
The major saluted and marched out of the shuttle bay bay. Tomed waved for Jake to follow him and exited the shuttle bay.
Tomed entered his room and plopped down in a chair. Jake stretched out in the bunk.
“Nice ship. I’ve never been on a Heim-class before.”
Tomed grinned. “But you’ve had one shoot at you?”
“Actually...” Jake began.
“Wait, I don’t want to know.”
Jake laughed and lay back with his hands behind his head. Tomed leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
“Napping?” Jake asked.
“At my age, I need rest.”
“I’ve always wondered just how old you are.”
“I’m checking in with Nilre. Apparently she and our guests from Alkask got into some trouble.”
“Oh? Are they okay?”
“Yeah, they’re fine for now—” A loud beep from the intercom on the wall next to the door interrupted Tomed. He stood and pressed the button. “Tomed.”
“Lieutenant Strouse here, sir. The captain is ready to see you in the conference room.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant. I’ll be right there.”
“You want me to come with you?” Jake asked without moving from the bunk.
“No. Wait here for now, please.”
“All right.”
Tomed paused at the door. “Oh, I think there might be cookies in that cabinet by the table.”
Jake opened an eye. “How long have they been there?”
Tomed chuckled. “They’re not from the last time I was here. In fact, I’m not even sure if there are any cookies. Just that there usually are. I think one of the ensigns has a crush on me.”
“You don’t know for sure?” Jake winked at him.
Tomed rolled his eyes. “I’m not encouraging it.” He shook his head and walked out.
Captain Trenton, Commander Dennings, and Major Hood were already seated when Tomed arrived at the conference room. Tomed nodded to them and took a seat across the table from the captain.
“Good evening, Psygen,” Captain Trenton said.
“Good evening.”
Captain Trenton turned to face his staff. “Our current mission is to escort Psygen Tomed and his operative to a rendezvous with an unknown pirate vessel.” The captain nodded at Tomed. “Psygen.”
“Thank you, Captain. My operative came across information suggestive of a plan involving a large operation sometime in the near future. Unfortunately, that’s all anyone seems to know. He then inserted himself among a group hired to pull off part of the job.
“Four days ago, we prevented a group of pirates from stealing supplies slated for the StarsView Resort of Antar. Our mission is to follow the captured pirate ship while it makes the planned rendezvous with the other vessel. Questions?”
“What do you expect to find at the rendezvous point?” Captain Trenton asked.
“We’re not sure. Either a ship large enough to carry the supply ship, or a convoy of some sort. We’re going to follow the captured supply ship in, fire a few shots after it, then let it slip behind whatever ship we find waiting for us.
“Ideally we’ll be able to get some information out of whomever we find there, and then let my operative ‘escape.’”
“Sounds fairly straightforward,” Commander Dennings said with a frown. He tapped his thumb on the table.
“If it all goes as planned.”
Captain Trenton leaned forward. “Psygen Tomed, I must admit I have a few reservations about the lack of information available on this mission. I realize the importance. However, I am concerned for the safety of this ship. Is there no more information you could share?”
“I’m sorry, Cap
tain. I think there is more going on here than simple pirate raids. There is information to suggest that several different pirate groups have been working for a single goal, without knowledge of what it is or who they’re working for. UGAL feels the mission is worth the risk to find out more.
“The Goddard’s presence is of critical importance with the recent increase in pirate activity. Don’t worry. UGAL won’t sacrifice a queen to a pawn. If we encounter a ship or fleet large enough to pose a danger to the Goddard we’ll leave the area and await more information from my operative.”
“Major.” Captain Trenton swiveled in his chair to face Major Hood. “I’d like you to work with Psygen Tomed and his operative to make his ‘escape’ look real. Also, keep his contact with the rest of the Goddard’s crew to a minimum.”
The major nodded and snapped off a salute.
“There’s one other thing as well,” Tomed said as he looked at each of them. “The SeQish ambassador has been kidnapped—along with one of our Meskka guests who attempted to prevent it.”
The captain and commander exchanged concerned looks. Captain Trenton leaned back in his chair. “This could have serious repercussions for UGAL. I assume a Psygen is already tracking down the ambassador?”
“I’ve just heard from Nilre. She and our other guest from Alkask have found the ambassador. That’s the good news. The bad news is they are stowed away on the kidnapper’s transport with no backup. Nilre thinks they’re headed to SeQish. Our next mission is to rescue them.”
“Clear on the other side of the Alliance. Great.” Major Hood muttered.
“Isn’t the von Braun on its way to SeQish?” Commander Dennings asked. “Couldn’t they intercept the transport?”
“Unfortunately the von Braun is operating with a skeleton crew—not enough to man the weapons and overwhelm the force of pirates on the transport. UGAL has contacted the Heim and ordered them to drop the rest of their exploratory mission and head back at maximum speed, but we’re still closer.”
“I’ll have engineering prepare for maximum speed to SeQish as soon as we drop off your operative. Anything else?”
Tomed shook his head.
The captain looked around the rest of the table and dismissed the meeting.
Bast shook her left rear leg to relive a cramp, and once again smacked her foot into one of the metal support struts that were spaced about every half-length through the crawlway. How long had she and Nilre been in here, anyway? It felt like hours. She frowned at the deck plates. She still didn’t know where the ship was going or where Rrrark was. She knew it wasn’t exactly safe to wander the ship looking for him, but he was somewhere on board and she couldn’t reach his mind. What if he was hurt? She looked over at Nilre. The Psygen woman lay on her back with her eyes closed and an intense look of concentration on her face.
Bast watched her for a moment. What was she doing? Probably trying to figure out what to do next or attempting to find Rrrark or Ambassador Kclntc. Nilre was more powerful than Bast and might be able to detect Rrrark’s mind even when she couldn’t.
“Nilre?”
No answer. Bast reached over and nudged her with a paw.
Nilre opened her eyes and propped herself on an elbow to look at Bast. “Yes?”
“Do you think Rrrark is okay? And the ambassador...”
Nilre smiled. “They’ll be all right, Bast. I’ve—” Nilre stopped in mid sentence. She cocked her head to the side for a second then smiled softly and shifted around in the crawlway to face Bast. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Thanks. Do you know where we’re going?”
“I was able to pick some information from the minds of the crew. Apparently we’re on our way to SeQish.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Isn’t that where the ambassador is from? Why are they going there?”
“Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find that out.” Nilre frowned. “I’ve filled Tomed in on what’s happening. He’s still out near Antar. After he finishes with the pirates, he’s bringing the Goddard to rescue us. I want to see if we can locate and free Rrrark and the ambassador by then.”
“I know where Rrrark is, but I can’t talk to him.” Bast could barely keep herself from whining.
“Well, that’s a start. I’ve found him too, but I can’t find the ambassador. I’m a little worried about that.”
Bast jumped—and almost hit her head on the ceiling. “Hold on, I think Rrrark is waking up!”
Bast? Rrrark’s mental voice sounded groggy.
Rrrark! Am I glad to hear you! Are you all right?
Yes, I’m fine. Where are we, and how close are you?
We’re on a spaceship, and I don’t know exactly. Nilre’s here with me. Let me ask her.
“I was listening.” Nilre shuffled closer to Bast. “Let’s see if we can find out. Gail: terminal.”
A transparent holo-window popped into the space between her and Bast. Nilre grabbed the window and pulled it around so they could see it better. She keyed in a sequence that brought up a schematic of the ship.
“Okay. Here’s where we are,” Nilre said as she touched a section of the diagram. “And I think Rrrark is here. It looks like he’s just down the hall and around the corner to the right.”
Okay, it looks like we found where you are, Rrrark. Is there anyone in the same room there with you?
There doesn’t appear to be. The lights are off and I don’t see, smell, or hear anyone.
How’d you get here? Nilre asked.
I jumped onto the hovercraft to try to save the ambassador, and it took a while for me to notice that we had pulled away from the building. Something hit me over the head, and I woke up in a cage in what looked to be a storage room.
I was about to demand to be let out when I heard several men talking about the ambassador. They said something about hoping that someone named Ceres would pay them what he’d promised. Then they started talking about me. Apparently they thought I was the ambassador’s pet. As insulting as it was, I decided to play along with it in hopes that I could learn something new. Many hours passed, and the men came back and loaded me—cage and all—onto this ship.
While they carried me, they talked about someone else coming to take the ambassador. Apparently he was being taken to a different location. I don’t think they knew where—it sounded like they were just speculating about it.
Before the ship took off, they injected me with something, and the next thing I knew I woke up here.
Interesting. Tomed said that the pirate group he’s after only knew about their immediate task as well, Nilre said.
Bast lowered her ears and tucked her tail underneath herself. So what do we do now?
We have several options. I’m not really thrilled with any of them, so I’ll share my ideas with the two of you and see if we can come up with a workable plan.
Okay, Bast and Rrrark replied simultaneously.
Well, my first thought is that we go get Rrrark and take over the ship. The problems are, first, we still don’t know where the ambassador is, and since no one on the ship knows, we’ll be unlikely to find out. Second, we don’t know what condition the ship is in. We might get to SeQish and be stranded until Tomed arrives.
The other option is to wait until we land then see what and whom we find. We should be able to learn more about what’s going on by seeing where we end up. I’m not fond of this option because it places Rrrark in unnecessary danger.
I’m willing to take that risk, Rrrark said.
I know, but I don’t know if it’s the best course of action. You’re our diplomatic guests, and if something happened to either of you, it could have serious repercussions for both our peoples. I shouldn’t have let matters get to this point.
It’s not your fault, Rrrark said. Bast and I made a decision to investigate when we heard strange noises from the ambassador’s suite. I appreciate your concern, but if we hadn’t stumbled into this mess, the pirates might have gotten away with the am
bassador without anyone knowing until they were long gone.
Yes. We can’t change what happened, but it is my responsibility to keep you from further danger—
Bast and I are scouts. It’s our job to take care of this sort of thing. I realize that we’re out of our jurisdiction, but we are involved now, and I want to see this through. We’re here to take a closer look at humanity and determine if we want to have future interactions with your people. Bast and I have personally interacted with many of you. The members of the Council that will read our report haven’t. I need to observe how you handle this. Besides, it makes my fur prickle to see evil people get away with this sort of thing.
Bast tuned out the conversation. She didn’t really like either of the presented options and didn’t really care about the consequences. She just wanted Rrrark out and safe—but someone would eventually notice he was gone and find all of them.
Actually, with some modification that might work, Rrrark said thoughtfully.
Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to—, Bast began.
Never apologize for a good idea, dear. Nilre smiled. Rrrark is right. With a little tweaking, that idea might be useful. Rrrark, you wouldn’t happen to smell any meat in that room anywhere would you?
Hmm…
In her mind’s eye, Bast could almost see Rrrark sniff around the room.
There might be some. Everything’s sealed, so it’s hard to say, but I can detect traces of a lingering meat odor.
Is there a set of thick metal doors on any of the walls? Nilre asked.
Yes, right behind me.
Good, it’s probably freshly refrigerated then. Hang on, I’ll be right there.
Nilre turned to face Bast. “I need you to stay here, please. I’m going to go get Rrrark and bring him back here. I need you to listen for footsteps. If you hear any, let me know.”
Bast jerked to her feet—and bumped her head on the ceiling. “Ow! I want to come too! Shouldn’t someone keep watch while the other one’s breaking him out of that horrid cage—”
Nilre placed her palm on Bast’s nose. Despite herself, Bast felt her muscles start to relax.