Star Trader Update .019

019.01

It was the second day of my incarceration at Mazala. TiSenge slapped me in chains and was having his inquisitors question me. They were using sleep deprivation and repetition. I guess they thought real violent torture was inappropriate for a female. So far everything they asked was something I was at liberty to tell.

Yes, I knew Aldobi-rand.

I escaped from his men.

I came to TiSenge to offer my services against the foul leader, Rand.

No, I did not know what Aldobi-rand’s plans were concerning aggression toward Mazala.

No, I was not paid to come and spy on TiSenge.

My mind was worn to a frazzle. I was physically exhausted to the core. I would have given anything to have never seen Alta III much less set foot on it.

Toward evening of the third day the princess, Keela, came to see me. She was a lovely little thing with dainty chestnut colored features, dark flowing hair and dark eyes that would melt any man’s heart. She dismissed the guards to stand outside my room. She had a plate of food brought in. Not an action I am sure her father sanctioned.

As soon as the servant left she got right to the point.

“Why have you come?” she asked.

I gave my pat answer. “To help your father fight against the tyrant Aldobi-rand.”

“The real reason you came.”

Okay, so what is it going to hurt? I’m not going to get out of here anyway. I took a swig of the wine while it was still at my disposal. I was sure this was just a trick to get me to spill my guts. Well, I give up. Why not tell the truth.

“I was tricked, blackmailed, into coming here,” I answered.

“To get me.” It was a statement not a question. It seems I was not telling her anything she didn’t already know.

“Yes,” I answered around a mouth full of roasted chicken and bread. I was so tired I could hardly chew. “I was supposed to charm my way into your father’s harem and whisk you away. Guess that didn’t work out so well.”

“I would not have gone with you,” Keela said.

“Really?” I asked. I chuckled around another wad of bread I shoved in my mouth.

“Why do you find that amusing?” She asked.

“Because the guy is so damn sure you are head-over-heels in love with him.” I chuckled again thinking of the look on Rand’s face when he found out Keela was not totally smitten with him. Ego be damned.

“You say you were tricked. What has he done to you?” she inquired.

“He stole my blaster and framed me for murder,” I admitted. “I made what I thought was an innocent delivery of merchandise and ended up here.” I waved a chicken bone to indicate how far I fell due to Rand’s deceit.

“Like you, at first I was tricked by Aldobi’s charms. Now I know he only courts me for control of my father’s tribe. He wants what he cannot have,” she stated forcefully. “I will keep up the charade of being interested in him only so long as it benefits my father’s rule and keeps Aldobi-rand’s aggression against Mazala at bay.”

Smart girl as well as pretty. 

“Your father is lucky to have such a loyal and intelligent daughter,” I complimented her. “I am not supposed to advise you, but you are wise not to succumb to his advances.”

We both fell silent for a moment. I was thinking how nice it would be to curl up and go to sleep now that I had something on my stomach other than the few sips of water I was given over the last three days.

“What would you do if you were to be set free?” Keela asked.

Was that an offer I heard in Keela’s voice?

“I would make my way back to Kadear. Get my blaster from Aldobi-rand and leave.” Ah, as Tim O’Malley would say, ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’ I was never getting out of this place.

“And if you were to talk to Aldobi-rand what would you tell him was my reason for not flying to my beloved’s side with you?” She prompted. Was that a glimmer I saw in her eyes or just my hope of escape reflected in them?

“I would tell him I left you crying. I’d assure him I was lucky to escape with my life much less get you out even though you begged me to take you.” I drained my cup and smiled as I stuffed the last bite of bread in my mouth. Was I going to get a chance to leave? Was this tiny, capable, young lady going to help this stupid, foolish spacer?

“You would assure him that I wanted desperately to join you in your flight.”

“I would, that is, if I saw him. I’m not sure I will get the chance.” There was always the chance Fatu already procured my blaster from Rand or destroyed it, in which case I could just hop in my pod and bid the place a fond farewell.

“Tomorrow at mid-day. Be ready. I will come for you during the dark time.”

*****

019.02

Jake rapped lightly with the brass knocker. He stood silently in the shadows of the porch overhang waiting for someone to answer the door. This was where Fatu lived last time he was on Alta III. Fatu had the trained eyes of a G.O. and spotted Jake at one of the local markets picking up supplies a couple of years back. Jake wouldn’t have risked a stop on Alta III except that he ran out of food for Kay-o. A hungry Dar-dolf was not something to be trifled with. They had more destructive power than a Phase III Plasma Laser. Lucky for Jake the dresarge food was compatible with Kay-o’s digestive system.

After the G.O. removed him to his home where he chastised him fully, Fatu let him get away with just a warning. He wasn’t sure the Galactic Officer would be willing to help him this time, but it was certainly worth a try.

He rapped again. It would be mid-day soon and he wanted to get inside. He’d heard about Parnac and his followers. He didn’t fear what he couldn’t see, hear or feel, but he knew the followers were Altan’s that took advantage of the dark time to pillage and spoil. He didn’t want to get involved in any of their antics. He didn’t have time.

Jake heard footsteps on the other side of the door. It swung open and Fatu stood just inside. He was a little older - this kind of work did that to you, a little heavier, and a little meaner looking. He recognized Jake instantly.

“Harcourt,” he hissed as he reached out, grabbed the front of his robe and roughly pulled him inside. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. He closed the door and threw the bolt into place.

“I came to help a friend,” Jake began.

“3su.” It was a statement on Fatu’s part rather than a question.

“Do you know what’s happened to her?” Jake asked.

Fatu pulled a jug and two cups off the shelf behind him. He put them on the table and filled them to the brim. “Sit. We need to talk.”

“The last I heard was from Rand yesterday. He received a bird from his spy among TiSenge’s circle. She was alive, but still being questioned by the warlord’s inquisitor,” Fatu said. “So today would be the third day of her incarceration. She’s a tough one, Jake.” He was trying to instill hope.

“Yeah, she can be really dogged sometimes,” Jake said with affection in his voice.

Fatu took Jake step-by-step through the full story of Aldobi-rand’s set-up - from the attack, through the accidental killing, to the staged murder, the blaster’s change of hands, through to the blackmail and transport to TiSenge in Mazala. Jake just kept shaking his head. 3su was a magnet for the impossible and improbable.

“Have you been able to get your hands on the blaster?” Jake asked.

“Not a chance. He wears it during the day and sleeps with it under his pillow at night,” Fatu said in disgust. 

“So what’s the guy’s weaknesses?” Jake asked as he poured himself yet another cup of wine. He wished fervently it was something stronger. He could have used a glass of whiskey right now.

“Liquor, women and cards. Just like any other warm blooded male.”

A gleam twinkled in Jake’s eyes. “Is he any good at cards?”

“I’ve only won once out of all the time’s we’ve played and we used to play a lot before he became so obsessed with Keela and his plan for uniting the tribes.” Fatu looked deep into Jake’s eyes. “Why? You got an idea?”

“Does he play CU?” Jake asked.

“Is there any other game worth playing?” Fatu answered a question with a question.

“Not as far as I’m concerned,” Jake admitted with a smile.

*****

019.03

Keela came just as she promised and this time she brought backup. He was a huge man with biceps the size of my thighs. I came to my feet when I heard the key in the lock. Keela stepped over the unconscious guard at the door and came to unlock my shackles. We moved out of the way as the big guy dragged in two guards at a time, dumped them unceremoniously in a pile and went back for the third.

“Dead?” I asked. I hoped not. I didn’t need any more collateral damage to answer for.

“Drugged,” Keela said. “In the mid-day meal that came from the main kitchen in the palace. Everyone has access. Anyone could have done it,” she said with satisfaction.

“Good job,” I said with a smile.

“This way,” Keela said as she took a torch off the wall. The larger moon eclipse was just starting. We had nine minutes and thirty-two seconds to make our escape - just like I planned from the beginning except that I would be the only one running.

            “I can’t,” I said as I looked at the huge dresarge before me. I conquered the dark time by running here with Keela and her servant. They were fearless in the total blackness. Either the followers of Parnac didn’t haunt this city or it was all superstition as I originally believed. However, I just couldn’t see me on one of those dresarge by myself. “Really, I can’t,” I repeated with emphasis.

            “She is very gentle,” Keela assured me as she stood by the beast stroking its long golden fur.

            “I’m sorry. I really appreciate the offer, but I think I’ll walk.”

            “And you won’t get two miles before father’s people overtake you and bring you back. Do you think he will believe you when you tell him you escaped on your own? He won’t,” Keela stated with conviction. “He’ll see a traitor in his midst and he will torture you this time. And when you succumb and tell him it was me…What do you think he will do to a disobedient child?”

            I had no idea, but I knew I didn’t want anything to happen to Keela on my account. I approached the dresarge slowly.

            It did seem to be of a different temperament then the ones I came in contact with earlier. When I tentatively reached out my hand she sniffed it. The sniff was followed by an exploring lick of her rough tongue. The one head moved aside so the other could have a taste too. I hoped they were not sizing me up for an afternoon snack. When the beast started to rumble I hesitantly moved back a step.

            Keela caught my arm. “No, it is not a growl. It is a purr. She likes you. Come. Come,” she coaxed. “You must have come on a dresarge if you made your way from Kadear to here.”

            “I did, but it wasn’t near as big.” This thing wasn’t any taller than Aldobi-rand’s giant, but it was rotund. I could have set on its back cross legged.

            “Yes, she is pretty big,” Keela admitted. “She’s pregnant. She will birth sometime next month. Climb up here,” Keela indicated and tapped the rails of the fence separating the stalls in the barn.

            I climbed up and on over to the back of the beast.

            “Her name is Tarrazu and she is my favorite,” Keela confessed. “She will get you safely back to Kadear. When you get to the outskirts of the city just get off and she will come home.”

            Keela walked out of the barn and into the last of the eclipse. She and her man did not seem to have any fear of the eclipse or Parnac.

Tarrazu followed her voluntarily. The big guy was standing watch outside. He handed me two skins of water on a long thong. I swung them in front of me over the shoulders of the beast.

“One for you. One for Tarrazu,” he said in a deep baritone as if he thought I wouldn’t share unless I was told to.

“You will be back to Kadear by this time tomorrow,” Keela whispered. “See that dimple in Gresee’ cheek?” she asked as she pointed to a crater on the smallest moon. It was just becoming visible as the sun began to work its way out from behind the furthest large moon. “Kadear is right under that dimple. You ride toward that. You must stay off the main road,” she cautioned.

The big guy handed me another bundle. I imagined it was food wrapped in a blanket.

“When you want Tarrazu to turn left or right just touch either shoulder. To stop, tug on the ruff at the back of her neck. To get her to move forward you must only touch her flank,” Keela instructed. “If you stop for any reason be sure to tell Tarrazu to sit or she will leave you and come home,” Keela advised.

She took one of the beast’s heads between her hands and held it by the scruff of its fluffy side whiskers. “You be good,” she admonished. “Run well and come back soon.”

The dresarge purred as though it understood. Keela stood aside and I was on my way just as the eclipse began to uncover.

*****

019.04

“I value my men’s recommendations, Harcourt,” Aldobi-rand said as he poured Jake and Fatu another goblet of wine. “But, I must ask, why Alta III?”

“I heard it was a lucrative gig if you could find the right employer,” Jake answered.

Fatu introduced him as a mercenary for hire. He built up Jake’s past exploits and padded a few numbers to make the freelancer an appealing asset to acquire.

“Good, I like a man that can be bought,” Aldobi-rand said with a smile. “Makes negotiations so much easier when it all comes down to money, and not title or duties. You don’t have any qualms about duties do you Harcourt?”

“I’m a mercenary,” Jake said. “Tell me what you want done and I’m your man for the agreed upon price, but cross me and you’re dust beneath my thrusters,” Jake warned.

“I can live with that,” Rand agreed.

“You will enjoy having Jake around for those quiet times too,” Fatu said. “He is a really good CU player.”

Aldobi-rand rose to the bait. His ego would not let the offhanded challenge pass. “Really? How about a game right now? I haven’t played in ages, but I wouldn’t mind a little game if there was a lucrative enough incentive.”

“I don’t have much on me,” Jake said. This was the plan Fatu and he came up with yesterday when they conceived the idea - enough money to play a game or two and lose. No more.

“How much?” Rand asked.

“I’ve got two gold ingots and a hand full of chits.” Jake pulled them out of his pocket as he spoke.

“I can cover that.” Rand said. “We can play a couple of rounds, anyway.”

The first game Aldobi-rand really did win, but by the second Jake was on to his ‘tell’ and let him win the second and third. Fatu floated him a loan, as planned, and he won the forth. He couldn’t look like a total non-challenger.

Jake raked in the pot. “Want to play one last hand? I’m beginning to feel lucky. Let me see if I can win a bit back.”

“I would, but I don’t think you have enough to stay in the game.” Aldobi-rand fingered his winnings.

“I tell you what,” Jake said. “I been noticing your Class I Blaster there.” He nodded at 3su’s weapon strapped to the man’s hip. “That’s almost a collector’s item these days. They don’t make that model anymore. I’ll bet my new Magnum Class against it. I win. I get the whole pot, whatever we’re up to and the antique. You win, you get the pot and the newest model on the market. How’s that for a deal.”

It didn’t take Aldobi-rand more than thirty seconds to agree to the bet. As Fatu expected he not only thought he lost the use of it as a blackmailing tool against a woman in the hands of the opposing tribe’s inquisitor, but he was also greedy and desperate for the newer model.

Jake drew the game out as long as possible. It really could have been a quick dusting cause every time Aldobi-rand bluffed he clenched his jaw. He was bluffing now. It was odd that no one ever pointed that ‘tell’ out to him. Then again, maybe the guys around here liked having the upper hand with the boss in one field at least.

After the fifth round and both blasters were on the table Jake laid down his cards.

“CU,” he declared with a sly smile.

The young ruler was hotter than a thruster on a titan rocket launcher. He came to his feet and turned his back on the table. “Get out!” he ordered.

Jake strapped his blaster back on and gathered up 3su’s and the rest of the pot.

“Maybe we can have a follow-up game later,” Jake offered with a smile to Rand’s back.

Fatu impatiently pulled on his sleeve. He didn’t want him to rub it in too deep.

When Aldobi-rand turned, Jake grinned at him and stuck out his hand for a good hearted shake. He just couldn’t resist.

Aldobi-rand snubbed him and turned back around to gaze out the window off the terrace where he set 3su up for murder.

‘What goes around comes around,’ Jake thought as he followed Fatu out into the moonlit night.

*****

019.05            

Between the sleep deprivation torture and the gentle roll of Tarrazu’s gait I fell fast asleep. I didn’t wake until I fell off with a resounding thud on the very unrelenting desert sand. By the time I came to my senses and pulled myself up to a sitting position Tarrazu was at least fifteen feet away and headed for home. My first instinct was to call out, but my throat was so dry I hardly managed a squeak. I tried to bring up some moisture into my mouth and staggered clumsily to my feet.

            “Tarrazu, Stop!” I ordered in a hoarse croak.

“Tarrazu, Come!”

            Damn my mind was in a fog and she was getting further and further away.

            I stumbled toward her retreating bulk.

            “Tarrazu, Stop! Please!”

            What was the command Keela told me?

            “Tarrazu, Sit!”

            The beast immediately stopped and flopped down flat on the sand. By the time I reached her she had her heads on her front paws with a huge purple tongue hanging out of each. She appeared as exhausted as I felt. I retrieved one of the water skins from her back and poured some into my hand for her to lap up. She did not disappoint. She went after the water like a Tuldavian Surface Skater. My hand couldn’t hold enough water so I tried alternately squirting the water into her mouths. That was a much more efficient delivery system. She eventually appeared to be relieved. I drank my own fair share and then sat down with my back up against her side.

            How long was I asleep? By the alignment of the moons and sun I would say that mid-day was not very far off. We should have reached Kadear by now, but when I lined up the position with the placement of that dimple on Gresee as Keela instructed, I didn’t see any sign of Kadear in the distance.

            I rose to my feet. I couldn’t see anything in any direction except sand and a lot of scrub brush.

            I was wandering aimlessly when my foot hit a mound of sand and I went down on one knee. When I got back to my feet I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were two mounds with a rut in the middle. They formed a circle perhaps thirty feet across.  When my eye followed it the only break in the two mounds was the one Tarrazu made when she headed away from me and the depression in them where I fell.

            Tarrazu had been walking in circles for god only knew how long. I couldn’t image why she would do this until I remembered more of Keela’s instructions, ‘push on either one of her shoulders to get her to turn.’ One of my hands or arm must have been loosely waving and tapping her shoulder as I slept. Gads! What a mess. No wonder the beast was tired.

            I went back to her and took the blanket from her back. I unrolled it and spread out the bounty Keela’s servant packed for our trip. There was the standard fare for these parts, cheese, bread and fruit, but there was also the addition of some sort of meat jerky. I took this to be meant for Tarrazu since I wasn’t served it thus far in my visit. In any case, Tarrazu liked it. It seemed to revive her further.

            We finished our meal. I bundled our supplies back up in the blanket and climbed up on Tarrazu. From the higher vantage point on her back I could see a pile of boulders off in the distance in the general direction we should be going to reach Kadear. I guided her toward them with a few pats on her left shoulder and a thump on her rump.

            Within half an hour we arrived at the outcrop of stone. I felt it would make a good place to shelter for the coming eclipse. The boulders were in a gentle ‘L’ shape. I would put my back to them, Tarrazu on my right and the fire in front of us. I noticed with satisfaction the rock would even protect us from a sandstorm if it came from the same direction it did when it overtook Fatu, Salib and me. I ordered Tarrazu to sit, which she did obediently and I started to gather fuel for the fire.

            When I unpacked our blanket pack earlier I noticed Keela or her man thoughtfully provided me with a fire starter and a small bundle of tinder. I don’t know if they anticipated us getting lost, but I figured no one on Alta III went anywhere without the ability to keep Parnac at bay. I raced to get the fire lit as the sun started to slip slowly behind Gresee.

            Tarrazu lied down comfortably at my side. I leaned back against the rocks behind me and tossed another branch on the fire for good measure.

            The eclipse of the smaller moon came and went. As I experienced before, the gentle breeze on the desert stilled. The fire crackled in the silence of the brief span of light before the sun started its descent behind the two larger moons.

            The moment we would have been shrouded in total darkness, if not for our fire, Tarrazu growled deep in her throat and came up to a sitting position at my side.

            “It’s okay,” I tried to assure her in a shaky whisper. Once again it was what I couldn’t see that frightened me.

            She stared out toward the darkness and rumbled again deep in her chest. What could she see, or sense, that I could not?

            Tarrazu growled again with more malice in the sound. She ended it by coming to her feet with a low pitched aggressive scream that made the hair on the back of my neck come to attention.

            I patted her side with the intention of calming her. “Sit, Tarrazu,” I coaxed.

            Instead of sitting she took one step away from me toward the darkness.

            “Sit!” I commanded more sternly.

            She growled ferociously, screamed in anger and jumped out of the circle of light and into the darkness. What I could hear I can only describe as the sounds of a bitterly fought battle. I caught only glimpses of it when Tarrazu would roll or tumble back away from whatever it was she was fighting. I saw her deadly tail arch up in the fire light and heard it smack into something with a heavy thud. I caught glimpses of some sort of black attacker, but could not determine shape or size. I thought I saw a huge arm around one of her necks at one point when she rolled back into the light. She threw it off and went back at whatever it was with snapping teeth and claws extended.

            I threw more fuel on the fire in hopes of driving whatever it was away, but not succeeding in doing that, I plastered myself up against the safety of the rock face and prayed that Tarrazu would win against whatever monster the eclipse brought down upon us.

            Nine minutes and thirty-two seconds is a long time to listen to a violent battle. The darkness stretched on and on punctuated only by quick glimpses of parts of Tarrazu and the sounds of the fight just outside the halo of light from the fire.

            Eventually though, the sun started to peek from behind the second, large moon. I wasn’t sure exactly what I saw right then. It took me several minutes to figure out what appeared to have happened and align it with what I saw. Tarrazu was standing a few yards away. Her massive jaws of both heads locked on an enormous snake – easily 25 to 30 feet long and big enough around to have swallowed me whole. Lucky for me, Tarrazu killed it. There were numerous smaller dead snakes up to six feet long piled around her feet. What did not register when I glimpsed her at first light was some of the smaller snakes leaving the attack on her to burrow their way into the sand.

            I called her to me and was relieved she came. I ran my hand over her looking for any injury. She thanked me with a wet kiss of her rough tongue when I got in range of one of her massive heads. She had several punctures around her neck and on her paws. I washed them with water. I fervently hoped the snakes were not poisonous. Since, by some miracle of alien composition, she was not bleeding I was anxious to get away from this place. I smothered the fire, tired up our bundle and lead her away toward Kadear.

            As we walked I tried to put what just occurred into some sort of sense. Did I inadvertently place our camp on a nest of vipers, or was there more to it than that? Could this be what everyone was afraid of during the eclipse? The snakes obviously burrowed beneath the sand in order to ride out the heat of the day. Did they arise during the darkness of the eclipse to feed? It would make sense why Keela was not afraid of the eclipse in Mazala. Their city was walled. Perhaps in their ancient past their ancestors built the wall and rid themselves of the snakes within it. The reason Kadear still feared the eclipse of Parnac was not the reality of the snakes, but the followers of Kadear that were Altans taking advantage of the dark time to carry out their criminal acts.

            Was Kadear’s population ignorant of the real threat? Had superstition taken the place of fact over the ages?