017.01
Boy,
do I have motivation to find the perfect outfit and the best haircut my chits
can buy. Forget that I would like to rumple the sheets with this dude if he is
anything like his portrait - I don’t want to look like a frump beside him. I am
going to buy whatever outfit I choose a size smaller. I’ll work out harder then
I have in my lifetime between now and the delivery in another two weeks. I will
have to advise Moby of my goals and have him adjust the menu to accommodate. He
can pick up some fresh produce from the colony. It seems right to have a goal,
something to shoot for even if it is a bit silly to think a guy like him might
take a liking for a gal like me. But alas, a girl can dream…can’t she?
*****
017.02
“It’s to die for,” Cassie sighed.
I couldn’t hardly breathe – got to lose that size before I can move in
it, but it is an incredible suit if I don’t say so myself. It is royal blue
with an iridescent shine to the material when it catches the light just right.
It has black piping in just the right places to tie in with the black of my new
boots.
I pulled on the matching gloves with
the silver buckle-ups that complimented the buckles on the boots.
“It’s fabulous. The color really
brings out the blue of your eyes,” Cassie complimented. “This is one kick-ass
outfit.”
“It will have to be to get me
noticed by this guy,” I told Cassie as I started to peel myself out of the
suit. I didn’t want to pull it out of shape before I got a chance to wear it.
“I wish there was a way I could show you the portrait, but that crate is
hermetically sealed.”
“Maybe you can get a picture of him
when you visit,” Cassie suggested. “Think he’ll pose?” She asked provocatively.
“He looks like he is used to people
admiring him,” I commented. “He’ll probably pose and posture all over the place
and I’ll hate him on sight.”
“NOT!” Cassie and I both said
simultaneously and giggled like school girls.
*****
017.03
“Daniel on sub-space for you,”
Ma-rye-a announced.
I exhaled a breath and I lowered the
weight I was holding down to the floor.
“Put him through down here.”
“Well, don’t you look positively
glowing,” Daniel said from the com-link above my head. “You’re working out?”
I mopped my sweaty face with a
towel. “And what’s so surprising about that?”
“Just the fact that you usually avoid
regimental exercise like a Max Cat avoids water,” Daniel said. “Is this part of
Dr. Morie’s regime?”
“Partially,” I said. “But I also
have a hot date waiting for me at my delivery site.”
“Really…” Daniel purred. “Tell…”
“No way,” I laughed and threw the
towel at the monitor. “A girl doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“Well, if this is the result of the
anticipation of a ‘hot date’, I should have found you a man ages ago. You are
looking goooooood.”
“Thanks, I feel lots better,” I
admitted. I hadn’t spoken to Daniel since I left. I had thought about it, but
wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear from me so soon after my ejection from his
pad. “I been meaning to call and thank you for getting me off my duff and back
into the Verse. And, the connection to Morie wasn’t a bad idea either.”
“Nightmares gone?”
“Yep, and feeling stronger every
day,” I announced with pride.
“That’s my girl,” Daniel said with
admiration.
“I have an appointment with Dr.
Morie in a little less than two weeks. I’ll call you after and maybe we can
meet somewhere. I’ll buy you a drink,” I offered.
“Sounds good to me,” Daniel replied.
“Travel safe,” he said and signed off.
*****
017.04
“How is the refitting coming, Sam,”
I inquired as soon as my boots hit the cargo bay.
“Just completed,” Sam answered.
“Have a look.”
He must have flipped the switch for
the newly installed cloak on the pod because the vehicle disappeared before my
eyes.
“Frosty,” I complimented.
“Yep, works like a dream. As long as
Ma-rye-a can hold the drone’s attention so they’re not actually scanning the
space you’re in you should be able to slip by.”
Furgus’ half payment on the job
helped fund the purchase of the cloak. The pay on this job was generous, no
doubt to ensure a successful smug.
When we get within pod range of Alta
III the plan is to have Ma-rye-a and the crew slow-run past the planet to keep
the Galactic Official’s surveillance drones occupied with her while I slip down
for the delivery. The drones keep track of all vessels coming and going from
Alta III. Ma-rye-a will get close enough to keep them interested, but not get
recorded. I don’t want her in their database. We are going to be ghosts.
We have luck on our side. Sane
people don’t go to all this trouble to get onto Alta III. Usually, only people
running from the Galactic Forces or with a death wish go there.
The Galactic Forces are making an
attempt to keep technology out of the Altan’s hands. They are basically
iron/bronze age, but have a few things that have leaked to them from visitors
in the past. For instance, Altans are well aware that there is a Verse full of
other sentient beings beyond their world. They have acquired communication
capabilities which they can run, but have no idea how they work. If it breaks
they would most likely just kick it. A lot of technology is ‘magic’ or
‘miracles’ to the Altans.
However, the chieftains see the power
of the ‘visitor’s’ magic. They are more than willing to deal with, or steal,
weapons and or other technology from anyone they meet. It is however, forbidden
by Galactic treaty for advanced races to deal with the Altans, hence the whole
smuggling bit even though it’s just a painting.
The planet’s inhabitants consist of
many warring tribes. Some live in permanent cities clustered around water
sources, but many are nomadic tent dwellers which roam the arid lands of the
planet. There are two central cities, Kadear and Mazala. The chieftains of
these two cities manage to keep a limited truce. Their citizens often prey on
one another, making little foraging raids back and forth. Occasionally, a
tribal lord will get his courage up, and inflame his men enough to try to take
on one of these walled cities, but it is rarely successful. The changing of the
city’s hands often comes from within as a coup. Forces from outside are never
enough to overcome the walls of the few cities and with water available the
inhabitants can hold out indefinitely. No one would poison water on Alta III.
It is way too precious.
“I know Cassie has something she
wants to go over before I leave,” I said to Sam. “Let’s meet up in my cabin and
finish up the prep.”
I watched as the pod’s cloak was
lowered and the vehicle reappeared on the cargo deck. Technology is truly
incredible at times.
When I reached my cabin, my whole
crew was present and each had advice for my trip down to Kadear.
“You’ll need to land the pod here,”
Ma-rye-a said as she cast a holo image of the terrain around Kadear pinpointing
the spot in red. “This bluff will shield your landing from view.”
“You should wear your blaster, but
whatever you do, don’t let it fall into an Altan’s hands,” Sam cautioned. “I
have put a remote detonator onboard the pod. If you do lose your blaster it is
tuned to its frequency. You must destroy it.”
“They can trace your blaster to you
via the Galactic register. If it is used in a crime on Alta that is brought to
the Galactic authority you will be subject to all the punishment placed on that
crime,” Horus advised.
All information I already knew, but my
crew was taking no chances of being left without a captain.
“You need to wear the cape you bought
for the Risa trip over your suit,” Cassie advised. That cape was light tan,
floor length with a hood. “The Altans are a dark raced people. You will stick
out like a white dwarf in the night sky. And the leather boots Arr gave you
last trip. They will fit in better than your spacer boots.”
“That kinda ruins my cool outfit for
attracting Aldobi-rand,” I huffed in frustration.
“Cassie is correct,” Horus agreed.
“You invite problems and confrontations if you are spotted as an Off-worlder,
or Enee as they call foreigners.”
Guess
that kills that dramatic dream entrance.
“Once we are sure you are safely
planet bound I will take us to the opposite side of their moon cluster and wait
for your signal,” Ma-rye-a confirmed.
I was going to lift off - once I was
out of the planet’s atmosphere I would create some random prerecorded sub-space
chatter that the drones wouldn’t have any reason to monitor, but Ma-rye-a could
spot. We would rendezvous at a prearranged location and our work would be done.
In and out - slick as a Tuldavian
Swamp Lizard’s trap.
*****
017.05
It’s never quite dark on Alta III at
night. The moon cluster just appears to be three closely orbiting bodies from
space, but on land they are two huge moons and a smaller moon in a ‘cluster’
that reside stationary in the sky throughout night giving the land a ghostly
glow.
It was an uneventful trip down. I
landed the pod unobserved. Its cloak took on the look of the landscape so
effectively that I GPSed the location so I wouldn’t miss it upon my return.
I would hike into Kadear from here,
make my way to the palace of the ruling family and use the ‘secret’ password
Furgus gave me to get Aldobi-rand’s guard to admit me. I felt like I was in an
adventure vid or one of Daniel’s action games. It was fun until I hit the
outskirts of the city.
It seems these nomads have a
plethora of dogs – watch dogs, stray dogs, mongrels, and mutts. They all bark
and announce your presence. You can’t go anywhere unnoticed. I am so glad
Cassie dressed me properly. It took twice as long to get from the pod to the
palace as I thought it would. I ducked up allies to avoid dogs and the masters
they had aroused. I hid in shadows waiting for dogs to quiet and burly men to
pass on. I skirted a fountain only to run into a pack of sleeping, staked dogs
that would have taken my leg off if I hadn’t moved as fast as I did in order to
avoid their snapping jaws. A black bearded man stuck his head out of a tent
pitched nearby and threw a shoe at the dogs to demand quiet.
I heard one of them yelp with the
impact and the laughter of several men as the man rejoined the others in the
tent for what sounded like heavy drinking and gaming.
I was greatly relieved when I
reached the walls of the palace even if the two guards at the gate looked
formidable.
*****
017.06
I
made sure my face was hidden in the shadows of my hood.
“I
have been told to report to Aldobi-rand,” I said in as deep a voice as I could
manage. “Muhat-Matal.” This was the password that would get me admittance into
the palace.
“He
has been awaiting your arrival,” the guard said unexpectedly.
I
didn’t know Furgus sent word ahead that I was on my way, or my estimated time
of arrival.
“This
way,” the guard indicated with his spear.
The
two men towered over me, but I told myself I was safe now – finally in the
confines of the ruler’s palace walls. I followed one guard with the other guard
coming up behind me. Safe is a relative term. I felt penned in.
They
led me down several halls – right, left and right again – then up two flights
of marble stairs and through a massive double door. The lead guard fell to the
rear to join the other and the door was closed abruptly leaving me alone in a
room sparsely furnished with chaise lounge, two chairs and a small low table. A
waiting room I surmised. There was a tray on the table with a pitcher and two
brass goblets. I was horribly thirsty from my travels. Once I smelled the
liquid in the pitcher and then took a sip I was sure it was wine and took the
liberty of filling a goblet. I downed it and replaced the goblet on the tray
hoping it would not be noticed that I helped myself.
There
wasn’t much to see in the room. It was heavily draped all around except for the
far wall that opened onto a terrace through light colored sheers. I decided to
take a look.
I
was staring out at the city below when I heard a foot fall behind me. He was on
me before I could turn. He seized me around the neck – choking me.
I
went limp and he followed me half way to the floor before he had to release me
in order to keep his balance.
He
grabbed at me. He was bigger, but I was faster. I rolled away from him kicking.
I wished I had my spacer boots – I would have succeeded in breaking his leg at
the shin. With the soft leather ones I had on, it didn’t break anything, but it
threw him off balance enough to send him up against the railing of the balcony.
He
whipped a long lethally sharp knife from his belt and started toward me.
I
dove back toward the floor. I lunged toward his feet, grabbed one and lifted.
He
teetered for a moment as he cartwheeled his arms trying to regain his balance,
dropping his knife in the process.
I
instinctively reached out for him, but it was too late. He went backward over
the edge falling to the ground two stories below with a ripe sounding thud.
“Well,
done,” a deep voice said behind me.
I
turned startled and ready to do battle again.
It
was Aldobi-rand. I recognized him from his portrait and I must say in
reflection that Furgus had embellished the leader’s feature for the better.
About the only thing that was the same were his lavender eyes.
“He
was almost twice your size and you took care of him effortlessly.” He moved
toward the edge of the balcony as I skirted out of his reach. “Of course, I
would have preferred he not die,” Aldobi-rand said as he gazed over the edge at
the body lying in the courtyard below. “Then again, if he cannot best a woman
half his size I suppose he was not worth his pay.”
The
young ruler-to-be turned casually back toward the sitting room. “Come, sit.
Have a drink with me.”
I
was beside myself with anger. “What was that all about?” I shouted, gesturing
wildly caught in my adrenaline high.
“I
would think it evident,” Aldobi-rand said as he filled the two goblets on the
table. “It was a test.”
“I
just killed a man.” I was seething.
“Yes,
and very efficiently I might add.” He started to hand me the goblet.
I
struck it from his hand. “I just killed a man,” I repeated myself. “For a
TEST?”
Aldobi-rand
nonchalantly seated himself in a chair. He sipped his wine. He was not upset in
the least.
“As
I said, if he had been worth his pay he would have gotten the better of you.
Your reputation is justified.”
“My
reputation?” What the hell?
“It
is not by accident that Furgus chose you for the delivery here. I needed a
woman. A woman skilled in hand-to-hand combat,” Aldobi-rand explained. “One
that could think on her feet. Furgus' research found you were just such a
woman. Your flight log reveals many interesting things about your temperament
and talents.”
“My
flight log?” How had he accessed that? He’d have to be able to tap into the NET
and deeper, into the Galactic Official’s logs. Furgus was an artist, not a
hacker. At least that was what I was led to believe. What had I gotten myself
into this time? I plopped onto the end of the lounge opposite him.
“You
handled yourself admirably on Ukhta against the OmniCron group. You showed
endurance and a strong will.” He picked up the goblet from the floor where it
had rolled to the foot of his chair. He filled it with wine and placed it on
the table in front of me. “Your escort of Ambassador Attila showed restraint. I
would have killed everyone of the iiadtsu, as Attila Number 5 did, if I had
been there.”
He
leaned back in his chair and crossed his long legs. “You’ve spent three months
grieving because you couldn’t save the beings that would have had you dead. You
sit there grieving for my man, Mulott, right now even though he would have
killed you.”
Aldobi-rand
uncrossed his legs and leaned forward toward me. “No, I need someone exactly
like you. I need someone clever and thoughtful and brave. I don’t need a
killer, though you may have to do a bit of that before you are through. I need
a survivor, a fighter, a female mercenary with a heart.”
*****
017.07
The Galactic officials are fooling
themselves if they think they know what is going on down here. I don’t know
about the rest of the planet’s inhabitants, but Aldobi-rand is wickedly
intelligent and crafty. My blaster has been confiscated. I’m locked in a tower
room with walls perhaps as much as three fit thick until I submit to
Aldobi-rand’s plot, of which I am an integral part.
I have twenty-four hours to make up
my mind or he turns me into the Galactic Officials as a smuggler and murderer.
He has left nothing to chance. Before locking me up he took me down to Mulott’s
body where he used my blaster on the highest setting to blow a hole in Mulott’s
corpse. If he shows the body to the G.O. they won’t even get past the blaster
burns to determine he died from a fall. Oh but, even if they did Aldobi-rand
was quick to point out they would have him as witness to me pushing Mulott over
the railing. I am doomed either way.
I was lured here to help with a
kidnapping. Aldobi-rand is plotting to kidnap the daughter of the Chieftain
TiSenge the ruler of Mazala. Aldobi-rand and Keela met four years ago when the
young ruler-to-be was taken by his father to TiSenge’s palace for the
negotiation of the current treaty between their two tribes. For Aldobi-rand it
was love at first sight. Over the last four years the two young royals have
communicated via messenger, but neither one of their parents will hear of them
marrying. Aldobi-rand’s father sees it as marrying beneath them. Keela’s
parents do not want any additional ties to the Rand tribe for fear their
strength will be sapped and eventually swallowed up by the larger, more
powerful tribe.
However, Aldobi-rand is set on Keela
as his bride. He sees not only a willing partner, but a way to unite the tribes
and do just as Keela’s father fears – mold the two tribes into one under his
eventual rule. I was forced to listen to Aldobi-rand’s plans for the future. He
has many grand plans. He assures me he will unite all the tribes of Alta III
during his reign. He will move his people into the future as a powerful force
in the Verse. He is a hot headed young man with feelings of immortality on his
side.
But, it all starts with his marriage
to Keela. If he can get her out of the palace and to him – if he can marry her without
interference – the marriage cannot be annulled. It is permanent. It is their
law. The parents of both bride and groom will have to live with the
consequences of their children’s act.
What Aldobi-rand wants me to do is
let him sell me to TiSenge as a kind of warrior bride addition to his harem.
Women with combat skills are prized in this culture. He assures me I would be
accepted readily. Once in the harem, and
hopefully prior to my marriage to TiSenge, it is my job to find a way out
for me and Keela. Once I hand over Keela to Aldobi-rand Mulott’s body
disappears, I get my blaster back, and I am free to go.
Oh, and on a side note, the portrait
is to be his wedding present to his bride.
Isn’t that just something to light your thrusters?
*****
017.08
“Drega,
Enee,” the servant greeted me as he placed a tray of bread, fruit and cheeses
on the table in my room along with a full pitcher and a goblet. “Food to break
your fast.” He bowed, his robe of many colors touching the ground. “I will
return to light the candles.”
I
was left alone for the morning. I ate, thought, ate and thought some more. I
always eat when I’m stressed. The same elderly servant arrived mid-day with
another tray. He greeted me once again and began to light the candles in my
room with the slim torch he was carrying.
“Isn’t
it a bit early to be lighting candles?” I asked. The day was sunny outside my
window. Not a cloud in sight. The heat waves were rising off the sands in the
distance like smoke off a smoldering fire.
“You
are Enee,” the servant said not unkindly, but referring once again of my
foreign birth. “You are not familiar with our moon cluster.” He lighted another
candle. He smiled at me with gleaming bright white teeth for such an old man.
“Would you like to hear the story of our moons?” he asked.
I
had nothing better to do. I nodded as I popped what looked like a dried apricot
in my mouth.
He
continued to circuit the room lighting the candles as he spoke. “Obihoot is
father moon. He fought hard for Calahoi, mother moon, centuries ago.” The old
man gestured toward the moons hanging with subdued pallor in the sky above.
“She was pulled from him many times toward the bright one, Parnac.” The old man
pointed toward the sun that appeared off further in the distance. “The Altans of old were thankful for Obihoot
and Calahoi because they brought us the cool temperature of night yet left us
enough light to see. They did not want to see Parnac pull Calahoi into his
grip, so our ancestors were pleased when the child, Gresee came to Obihoot and
Calahoi. Now with three they could withstand the pull of Parnac.” The old man
stroked his neatly trimmed grey beard in thought. “But Parnac is an angry
loser. He places himself behind the night three during mid-day and makes all
things dark. It is during these dark times that the followers of Parnac roam
the land to do their mischief. So, we must light the candles to keep them at
bay,” the old man concluded.
I
must have looked puzzled because he just smiled and bowed. “You will see,” he
said as he backed out the door.
And
I did see. There are two full eclipses at mid-day on Alta III. The smallest of
the moons cast the darkness first, then there is a break of perhaps two minutes
before the sun falls behind the two larger moons creating a total black out for
perhaps as long as ten minutes. I would have to time it to be sure. It is a
total black out – pitch black. If the old man had not lit the candles I
wouldn’t have been able to see my hand in front of my face.
And
it was not so much the dark as what came out of it that frightened me. Down
below in the city streets I could feel the terror that drifted up from the
populace. Everyone was quiet. Even the dogs were silent. Who are the
followers of Parnac or are they just a story to frighten children - and in this
case a whole populace in order to keep them under control of their Warlords? These
are a superstitious people. Superstitious people can be fooled. I may have a
chance yet.
I
have decided. I can’t sit here until Aldobi-rand calls the G.O. and rats on me.
I have to get myself out of this place. I have an idea formulating in my head.
It’s a slim plan, but it just might work. It will hinge on my crew and the time
before backup can arrive. I may have to agree to my captor’s proposal, but I am
feeling more confident every minute that I can get myself out of this place,
body and soul intact.
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