“There’s one who doesn’t look like he hates us.” Red pointed with his chin at an elderly alien, slumped, and barely taller than Red.
Rivka made a beeline for her. “Can you tell us where the hospital is?” she asked. The old Pretarian pointed with a skeletal hand toward a nearby walkway. “Thank you.”
Rivka walked in that direction. “How do you know she’s not leading you into a trap?”
“Worse than the last one our supposed guards walked us into? Or into a conference room that was supposed to be secure? I think the more quickly we move, the better off we’ll be.”
“Concur,” Red agreed succinctly.
The three huddled close as they walked. Jay kept her head down, using her peripheral vision to see what was going on.
“I don’t like this,” she murmured.
“Me either, but we do the job and then we get paid,” Rivka replied, soldiering forward through the throng of Pretarians.
“I get paid?” Jay asked.
“I suppose, but now you make me wonder. Damn! Do you get paid out of my pay—and I still have no idea what I’m getting paid—or do you get paid directly by the Federation, which seems unlikely at this point since they don’t know I hired you unless Grainger did it for me. Follow?” Rivka looked back and forth as she walked. “Why don’t these people believe in signs?”
“They know where they’re going,” Red answered. “It’s just one more way to show their superiority over aliens and visitors.”
“I have to admit that I’m beginning to share your low opinion of our hosts.” Rivka looked down side tunnels as they passed. “Hospital?” she asked loudly.
She watched a couple heads look in the same direction. Without pause, she turned that way. Red followed, shaking his head.
“I’m not liking our chances in getting out of here.” Red watched the Pretarians gather in the humans’ wake.
“Then we’ll go a different way,” Rivka suggested, dismissing his concern.
“I’m not liking our chances of finding a different way out of here.”
Jay chuckled, which made Rivka smile.
“Do you smell that?” Rivka asked. Red shook his head.
“I do,” Jay replied. “Smells like the area where they brought the injured.”
“Exactly. Follow that smell, Beauregard!” Rivka pointed forward.
“Who’s Beauregard?” Red wondered.
“My favorite bloodhound.” Rivka strode past a door and then stopped. She came back to it. She and Jay sniffed at it. “This is it.”
“I’m not liking this at all,” Red muttered as he pulled his shotgun from inside his coat. “This better be it, or we’re fucked.”
A mob of Pretarians was lining up behind them. Rivka opened the door and jumped inside, and Jay dove in right after her. Rivka reached back and pulled Red in. The door closed and they collectively breathed a sigh of relief, which ended when they turned around.
“I’m a Federation Magistrate!” Rivka declared from within the room, which appeared to be carved from the living rock. Red stood in front of the door, ready for it to open. Jay sat on the floor with her arms crossed.
“You told them that in the hospital. I think those were your last words when they hit us with the barrage of stun bolts. It impressed them then as much as it appears to now,” Red deadpanned.
“They took my datapad.”
Red turned around. “I feel for you.” He had been stripped to his underwear and stood there in his boxers. Jay started to laugh while trying not to get caught looking at Red’s body. “It’s hot as fuck down here. Up here? I don’t know where we are.”
“I’ll take the blame,” Rivka told them softly. “They can’t possibly think they are going to get away with this. Can they?”
Red turned back to the door and shrugged.
Jay hung her head between her knees and tried to think cool thoughts.
“They are going to kill us,” Red suggested. He sat down next to Jay, sweat running from him. Rivka alone was tolerating the heat. Jay was flushed.
“Grainger, I wish I had accepted your offer of help,” Rivka said. She checked on her two friends, then took off her shirt and started to fan them. Red leaned back and let the hot air evaporate the sweat, providing a brief respite. “I want my jacket.”
“You’ll get what they let you have,” Red muttered.
“Do you have any secret lock-picking skills?” Rivka asked.
Jay shook her head. “Not that I know of.”
“When we get out of here, what do you say we take a quick trip to Keome? I wonder if they hate the Pretarians as much as the Pretarians hate them.” Rivka sighed.
“That’s usually the case. It’s hard to like someone who hates you,” Jay added.
“I feel like shit,” Red offered. He leaned to the side and puked. He straightened up before wiping his mouth on the back of his hairy arm. “There we go. Heat exhaustion, round forty-four.”
“Heat ex becomes heat stroke, then you die,” Rivka said matter-of-factly.
The door to the cell opened. Two guards stepped in, aiming their weapons at the humans.
“Really?” Rivka stated.
Sinraloo appeared behind the two. “It’s good to see that you are still with us. Humans are so frail. I am surprised you survived the explosion. Not my bomb, by the way.”
Rivka leaned toward the Pretarian, but the guards kept her from getting too close.
“Let me touch you,” she offered. “I can tell just by touch whether you are telling the truth or not. You don’t have to, but if you do, I can turn my investigation in a different direction. There’s nothing more important than finding the bomber.”
“You think you are still investigating a crime. How quaint!” Sinraloo backed into the corridor. “You are to return to your ship and leave Pretaria immediately.”
Rivka wanted to bite the alien’s head off, but the look of Red and Jay on the floor gave her the obvious answer. “We will. Please show us the way. I’ll need my datapad and jacket. Red will need his clothes.”
“I’m sorry. After your run-in with the vagrants when you were saved by our illustrious security force, none of the things you describe were with you. They brought you here for your security. You should thank them.”
“My apologies, Sinraloo.” Rivka choked back the snark that was ready to erupt. She had no choice but to hold back. She pulled Jay to her feet, then Red. The women each took an arm to help him walk. With one guard in the lead and one behind, they embarked on the longest and most painful walk of their lives.
When they finally arrived at the entrance, Jay was staggering and incoherent. Red was unconscious and balanced across Rivka’s shoulders. The guard opened the door to let the heat waft in. “Do yourself a favor and rescind that treaty before you leave our system.” Sinraloo turned and walked away.
“You missed your calling,” Rivka said.
He stopped. “How so?”
“The job of Instigator pays good money on prison worlds. Maybe I can find you a spot.” Rivka grabbed Jay’s arm with her free hand and lumbered toward the ship. The hatch opened as she approached and she hurried toward it, using all she had left to get inside and button up the ship. She deposited the two in the lounge area and drew them large glasses of water. Jay could drink. She had to lean Red back and pour it down his throat.
She found the ship’s medical kit. “Chaz, I need to hook Red up to an IV. Show me how to do that.”
A video started to play, showing each step of the process. She followed along, cleaning the spot on his arm. With his low body fat and dehydration, his veins were almost bursting through his skin. She found the one she wanted, lined up the needle, and shoved it in. She taped it onto his arm as she hung the IV bag above the unconscious man. “That’s twice now, Red. Who is whose bodyguard?”
“Chaz, get me Grainger.”
After a short delay, a sleepy voice answered. “Nethers. You need a clock on that ship of yours.”
“They threw us in jail and took all our stuff,” she told him without preamble.
“You’re not in jail now, I suppose, unless those folks have mastered the interstellar communication system, which they haven’t. What did you do?”
“I tried to investigate the bombing.”
“Do or do not, there is no try,” Grainger mumbled.
“Nice reference. This planet hates the Keome with every fiber of their being, and now they hate humans, too. You’re welcome.”
“Did you lose your Magistrate’s jacket?”
“Yes, they took that while I was unconscious.”
“I would have razzed you about it, but that’s not how you treat one of my Magistrates. I’m on my way.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because.” He sounded more alert.
“I have not lost all control of this situation,” Rivka countered.
“I’m glad you caveated that. I was wondering if you’d lost most of your dignity, or all of it. Thanks for clarifying.”
“Don’t be an ass,” Rivka shot back. “This planet is home to the most hostile species I’ve ever met. Their idea of a treaty is they tell Keome they are assholes and the Keome agree and beg forgiveness. That’s it. They have zero business sense. They are fueled by rage.”
“Do you know who did it? Who bombed the meeting?” Grainger asked.
“No. I’d like to think it was Sinraloo and his cronies, but I’m not so sure anymore. I think it may have been the Keome, but I couldn’t get close to them or Yutta, especially following the blast. I had issues with him from Day One. I wouldn’t put it past him to have sabotaged the process by killing one of his own. I need to touch these guys, and it figures that they are allergic to physical contact or some such bullshit.”
“You tried to touch them?”
“Of course.”
“Like, with your arms out, staggering toward them, groaning for brains?”
“What?”
Grainger started to laugh and kept going. “Oh, God! Oh, Nethers, you’re killing me, but you are ‘Nethers’ no more. Ha!”
“What in the holy fuck are you talking about?”
“Zombie. You are now Zombie. After Jael hears this story, you will be known as nothing else.”
“And I thought the heat melted my brain. You are a total cross-eyed glory-hole whale-wiper.”
“Nice try, Zombie. Back to business, since you’re cutting into my beauty sleep and you know how much I need that. When it comes to your case, you don’t know anything?”
“Not a damn thing. They were holding Yus’ family hostage. Once he agreed to sign the treaty, their lives were forfeit. Maybe he suicided as a way out.”
“Those are quite the range of theories. Why are you calling me?”
“The heat nearly killed Red and Jay, and I’ve been kicked off the planet. We’re taking a short trip to Keome to see what they think about all this, then I’m coming back here to set things right.”
“You mean mete out Justice.”
“Exactly.”
“So you don’t need anything from me except comic relief?”
“Exactly. First beer is on me.”
“I think the first beer will always be on you. I’m calling it right now. Grainger out.”
“Wait!” she said, but it was too late.
She prepared a second bag for Red’s IV. “Chaz, take us to Keome, please. Best possible speed.”
“The Pretarians have not granted us clearance to depart. I have requested it, but they inform me it will be a few hours before we can go.”
“Is there a safety reason why we can’t, like a meteor shower or something?”
“Nothing that I can detect.”
“Take off, on my authority. Ignore the Pretarians. They don’t get to detain a Magistrate, not a second time in one day, anyway. Bring weapons online, activate the gravitic shields, and prepare to fire.”
“On whom should I fire?”
“Any Pretarian ship that tries to stop us.”
“As you wish, Magistrate. Lifting off. Next stop, Keome.”
The ship lifted away from the planet and arced into the sky.
“Anything?” Rivka asked.
“Clear space ahead, Magistrate.”
“At least they had the common decency for something.”
The ship rocked and juked. “Beginning evasive maneuvers. Ground fire. An ion cannon’s energy bolts are bracketing us. Leaving the atmosphere. We are in space. Preparing to Gate across the system. Gate is formed. Entering the Gate. We are over Keome.”
“Damn, that is what efficiency looks like. Thank you, Chaz. That ground fire wasn’t close, was it?”
“Not in the least, Magistrate,” the EI responded.
“Outside temperature?” Rivka asked.
“Cooler than Pretaria by four degrees,” Chaz answered.
“A cold spell. How will we manage?” Rivka shook her head. “What the hell is up with these planets? Chaz, I promise you that I will check ambient temperatures before I accept my next case. This blast-furnace climate is intolerable. No wonder they don’t have wildlife! I’m surprised any life evolved here.”
“A welcoming committee is outside the ship, Magistrate.”
“All ashore who’s going ashore!” Rivka called. Red was on his second bag of saline and barely conscious. Jay was slumped in a chair, rhythmically stroking Hamlet. “When that bag is done, give him a third one. Our big boy is thirsty. I won’t be gone long.”
Jay didn’t have enough energy to argue.
“Close and lock the door after me, Chaz,” Rivka called as she headed into the heat. It was every bit as oppressive here, maybe more so because of the humidity. Rivka did her best not to make faces.
She approached the tall multi-armed aliens. “I’m Magistrate Rivka Anoa. I’m pleased to meet you,” she began, with little enthusiasm.
One of the Keome stepped forward. “We appreciate your efforts to save the lives of our delegation to accursed Pretaria.”
Here we go, Rivka thought.
“But we must condemn your arbitrated treaty in the strongest terms.”
“Do you know how your people are doing? When will they return to Keome?”
“When they are able to travel; maybe a few more days. Thank you for asking. Now, let’s talk about this ill-advised treaty.”
Let’s not and say we did, she thought. “What rankles you the most about it?”
“It treats Keome and Pretaria as equals, and we most assuredly are not!”
Rivka breathed slowly, happy to find that the Keome didn’t get under her skin. “What does Federation law say on this issue? Because disputes between two planets who are both in the Federation surrender to the superior law—Federation law—to which Keome and Pretaria are both signatories.” She smiled pleasantly before raising her voice. “What does the law say?”
“I’m sure I don’t know!”
“Then find out, because the treaty was arbitrated according to Federation law. That happens when you request arbitration, which Keome and Pretaria did. There is nothing further to discuss. If you would like to challenge the arbitrated treaty, you can do that. The process is contained in the Federation’s Law of Arbitration, the penultimate section. Good luck with that. Now, I have some questions regarding the attack on the delegations. I’d like a private place to conduct my interviews, and I expect to start seeing your people in about fifteen minutes.”
The welcoming committee’s spokesman looked like he no longer wanted to speak for the group. Another stepped up. “Of course. Please come this way.”
“I’m sorry. I need to contact my ship.” The Keome pointed to the corvette, parked immediately behind her. She ignored him. “Chaz, I need you to stay in constant contact with me. If you lose contact, start destroying this planet and continue blowing things up until contact is restored.”
She turned back to her hosts. “Shall we?” Rivka motioned for them to precede her.
“Wait!” the or
iginal spokesman exclaimed. “What was that for?”
“On Pretaria, I failed to install a safety protocol, and I was blown up, attacked, robbed, and jailed. I will now implement that order whenever I meet with anyone in the Intripas system. People who hate aren’t to be trusted, because their emotions override their reasoning. If you aren’t like Pretaria, you have nothing to worry about. Shall we?”
One of the aliens stepped away from the group and hurried into the nearest building. Unlike Pretaria, most of the Keome structures were aboveground. They were low, but extended in both directions for as far as Rivka could see.
She started to follow the alien who left, but the rest of the group waved at her to go with them. The angled toward a different building.
“Where did he go?” Rivka asked the first spokesman. He didn’t reply. “Makes me think the Keome were planning something untoward. It pains me to see subterfuge. A very smart person told me that everyone lies, and I have found that to be true. What mistruths are you going to tell me?”
The alien continued to look forward, actively ignoring her questions. She looked to the others, and no one would meet her gaze.
“No matter. I will find out, the crimes will be tallied, and the guilty punished.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Where’s Rivka?” Red mumbled as he came to. He shivered, and it felt good. He was in the ship’s mess deck, the lounge, the rec room; all the things they called the corvette’s communal space. “What the hell?” He noticed the IV. “Not again...”
“Yup, again. Rivka is with the Keome.”
“I have to get out there.”
“Nope. She said to stay here, plus I can’t see where she’s gone, but Chaz is in constant contact with her. She gave some weird order that if we lost contact with her, the ship was to destroy the planet.”
“Can it do that?” Red asked skeptically as he yanked out the IV and held a finger on the puncture wound.
“Hey!” Jay slapped at his hand to take a look, then she carefully took the needle, tube, and bag and dumped it into the recycler. “I don’t think it can. I suppose it was a bluff because the Keome seemed to be as friendly as the Pretarians.”
Judge, Jury, & Executioner Boxed Set Page 16