Pursuit of the Bold

by Jamie McFarlane

  An alternative path displayed and without hesitation, I redirected to a second set of doors which placed us on a wide set of stairs.

  "What's in the pack?" I asked.

  He lightly tapped the bag beneath his cloak. "We have provided trade goods."

  "I won't even ask."

  We finally reached the bottom of the stairs and exited onto a darkened street. The bar was less than a couple of kilometers, so I picked up the pace. Having fallen in next to Sendrei, I continued the conversation. "What do you make of the supposed bounty hunter we ran into?"

  "We have not seen the last of them," he said. He turned and allowed a small barrel to show from under his cloak.

  “Pfft.” The sound of propellent warned me of something being fired.

  Sendrei smiled as he saw my questioning look. "One can never have too many sensors deployed in enemy territory," he said with a shrug.

  "Paranoid much?" I asked.

  "Yes," he answered sincerely.

  With access to a sensor at ten meters elevation, my HUD filled in details I was missing. Instead of being alone on the darkened, rainy street, I discovered two souls hunkered down, cleverly hidden in the shadow and obscured by a blanket. I gave the mystery guests my full attention as we passed, keeping at least five meters away from their location. They were obviously aware of our presence, but grew still, not wanting our attention.

  We continued along the darkened street and I wondered just what was inside the buildings we passed. It was hard to imagine a planet covered entirely by manmade structures. The miner in me was boggled by the raw materials required for such a venture. The buildings we walked past weren’t in great shape. The tang of rust was in the air, as was the odd smell I'd come to associate with a city, which always seemed worse with precipitation.

  Tabby drew up next to me. "We're being followed."

  "Not seeing it," I said, inspecting my HUD, expecting my AI to highlight her concern.

  "No. It's something I'm hearing," she said. "Soft footfalls, scrapes against metal. Stay alert."

  I unbuckled the strap holding my 1911 slug thrower firmly in its holster. "Gotcha. We're not far from our destination."

  We rounded the final corner in our trek to the Nexus bar. At the end of the street, about two hundred meters ahead, was a conical building illuminated with dim purple and green lights. Above a pair of black double doors, blinking orange script alternated with the picture of a bubbly drink in a narrow glass. My AI promptly translated the alien text to read 'Nexus.'

  A blinking warning on my HUD alerted me to the presence of someone on the roof of an adjacent building. By the time I turned, the figure had disappeared. Sendrei's sensors, however, had captured a picture and froze it in place. It was the angular face of a woman covered by light-colored fur. Atop her head were cat ears. I didn't need Jonathan's pronouncement to know that she was Kasumi and concluded she was likely the same Kasumi who had followed us from the Santaloo system.

  I withdrew my pistol from its holster and held it beneath my cloak as I pushed the group into a jog. Covering the last two hundred meters seemed to take a lifetime and I was relieved to finally reach the bar. Pushing my back against the building, I pulled open the door as I scanned the tops of the buildings around us. The Kasumi must have known we'd seen her, as the sensor didn’t detect her or any other movement. Our group entered the building.

  "I'll hang out here for a few," Tabby said, not following the rest of the team as they moved deeper into the sparsely populated room. Instead, she stepped to a table close to the entry where she could size up the bar's occupants as well as any new arrivals.

  "Copy," I agreed. Being separated from the group put Tabby at some risk, but she would be able to intercept trouble if it followed us through the door.

  Nexus bar was both foreign and familiar. Just about every humanoid sentient we'd ever met seemed to share three things relevant to a bar: the enjoyment of an intoxicating beverage, a desire to sit and relax while enjoying said drink, and a desire for communication or entertainment while doing so. In short, most bars – even alien bars – followed a familiar pattern.

  "This look okay?" Sendrei asked, gesturing to two tables along the wall.

  "That should work," I agreed.

  "I'm going to get something to drink," Hunter said. "You with me, Bray?"

  "Of course. A sailor needs to drink. Suppose they have vodka?" she asked, following behind him.

  He waited for her to catch up. "They have to have something like that."

  "Think they'll be okay?" I asked, my mind flitting back to a crew member we'd lost once before in a bar.

  "We're right here," Sendrei said. "It should be fine."

  I sat in a chair with my back to the wall and looked out over the room. A multi-armed robotic bartender stood behind the counter of a circular bar. Bottles filled the clear shelves all around the central hub behind him. The bartender had moved to stand in front of where Hunter and Bray had pulled up stools and was filling glasses as they spoke.

  Movement across the room caught my attention as a circular, meter-and-a-half-diameter platform lowered from the ceiling. Through the center of the platform was a pole and currently wrapped around this pole were shapely, albeit furry legs. As the platform continued to lower, I found it difficult to pull my eyes away from the scantily dressed Kasumi female who danced slowly to the background music.

  "Frak, is that her?" I asked, resting my hand on Sendrei's arm and leaning over to him.

  "It is the female from atop the building," he answered, quietly. "We do not know that it is she who hunts us."

  "Better than fair chance," Tabby said, pulling a chair next to mine.

  "Our contact is the bartender," Jonathan said. "His name is Zeke Steele and he prefers to be simply referred to as Zeke."

  "Are you in contact with him?" I asked.

  "He knows why we are here," Jonathan said. "He does not trust electronic communication and prefers to meet in close physical proximity."

  "He's a robot," I said. "Isn't that the definition of electronic communication?"

  "The translation of biological or analog signals to discrete electronic signals creates a unique challenge when attempting hostile, networked penetration. It is a reasonable precaution on his part," Jonathan said.

  I tried to untangle what he’d just said. "You're saying he doesn't trust you?"

  "That is correct. Zeke Steele does not trust our sentient collective," he answered. "We mean him no harm, but he has wisely constructed defenses against us."

  "Can you guys keep things friendly out here?" I asked, looking from Tabby to Sendrei.

  "Get me a drink before you go," Tabby said, kicking back so her chair leaned against the wall.

  "Sendrei?"

  He removed the pack Jonathan had given him. "Nothing for me."

  Taking the pack, I followed Jonathan to the bar and slid in next to Hunter. "Find something you like?" I asked.

  "The man's got a crazy long list," he said, lifting a glass of dark brown liquid in Zeke Steele's direction. "And he can make literally anything. This is an ale from Zuri. I'd swear he imports it, because I can't tell the difference. Doesn't make sense how he'd have it all the way out here, though."

  "Two words," Bray said, finishing off a narrow glass of a clear drink that had a splash of purple color in it. "Gift. Horse." As Larkin set the finished drink on the counter, she gestured to Zeke, pointing at her glass.

  "What?" Hunter asked. "And you might want to slow down. That's your third one already."

  "You never look a gift horse in the mouth," she said, her words not exactly slurring, but she was starting to lose some function. "And, hells bells, my man, everyone knows it takes four to get a good buzz. Don't be such a killjoy."

  I smiled. Petty Officer Bray was a consummate professional on the ship. This was an entirely new side of her. I reached into my pocket, pulled out two med-patches, and placed them on the bar. They would clear up intoxication within minutes. "Knock y
ourselves out, kids," I said. "Life is definitely too short." It was a comment I'd remember later, but at the time it seemed the right thing to say.

  "A drink, Liam Hoffen?" Zeke Steele's voice had a slightly mechanical edge to it.

  When we first entered the bar, I’d assumed Zeke to be no more than a robotic bartender. That is, I didn't know he was sentient. His slightly stiff movements and speech intonations certainly supported my assumption, but I wasn't about to underestimate him.

  "Maybe you have a suggestion? I like a little lighter taste than what Mr. Hunter is drinking," I said. "And how about whatever Bray there is drinking for my fiancée."

  "Very well," He pulled two glasses from beneath the counter with two of his four arms, filling them with spouts held by the other two arms and extending them to me. "We will allow credit to accumulate to fifty credits. Do you agree?"

  I looked at the bubbling blue liquid in the first glass and then to the clear drink in a narrow glass that resembled the one Bray was drinking from. Clearly the blue liquid was for me.

  "What's this?" I asked.

  "Marfon ale," he answered, still with the mechanical edge to his voice. "The coloring suggests a sweet flavor, but I assure you, you will find it to be most delightful. Do you accept the terms as I have outlined them?"

  "Oh, right. Sure," I agreed. He released both glasses and I walked the drink back to Tabby, leaving my pack behind on the chair.

  "That's quite a drink you have there," Tabby needled after I handed her drink over and kept the blue concoction for myself.

  I shrugged. "When in Rome." I lifted the drink to smell it and was surprised to discover hops. Without further hesitation I took a drink. Surprisingly, it had a nice, light taste and wasn't a bit sweet – as Zeke had promised. I set the glass on the table and turned back to the bar. "Back in a few."

  "You want to talk?" Zeke Steele asked. I was shocked at the lack of pretense.

  "Sure. You want to do it here?"

  "Follow me," he said and glided to the far end of the bar.

  Jonathan and I followed. I could feel the eyes of the Kasumi dancer on us as we passed in front of her elevated stage and I fought to not look up, trusting that Tabby would be watching.

  A warning chimed in my ear as we entered a plain room behind Steele. The room was heavily shielded from EM and once the door was shut, we'd be cut off from the outside world. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised by the precaution.

  "You have placed Zeke Steele in grave danger by requesting the information," Steele started.

  He turned to face us, rotating at his narrow, circular waist. He wasn't much to look at – a narrow, shiny steel torso that raised and lowered on a thick piston and was connected to tripod legs with large, rubberized wheels. His arms were bulky with one more segment than most humanoids had, and each hand had five fingers, complete with opposable thumbs.

  "The information was transmitted with highest level encryption," Jonathan said.

  "The void chatters that Kroerak seek the destruction of Loose Nuts. A contract of high value has been offered for your destruction. You are at great risk in Bhusal. My employee, Miko, followed you from the docking terminal. There is a team of hunters on your trail. They will take you when you leave Nexus this morning."

  "They might try," I growled.

  "Kasumi hunters are very good," he answered. "Survival is estimated at forty percent."

  "Feels like a discount on information is in order in that case," I said. "In that we won't be around to use it and all."

  Gears whirred as Steele rose and turned so that his eyes were on level with my own. "Humor is not detectable. Do you value your lives so little as to ignore the danger you have found yourself within?"

  "We've faced down Kroerak hordes on more than a couple occasions," I said. "A handful of angry cat-people aren't exactly at the top of our enemy list. We're here to learn of the Piscivoru. Did we come to the right place or are we wasting our time?" I stared into the mechanical face that still considered me, looking for any sort of tell. Steele's expression was unchanged as I mentioned the species he was thought to have information regarding.

  "I know of the Piscivoru, but the information has value," he said. "What have you to trade for it?"

  "Anything in the bag," I said, setting it on the table.

  "What is in this bag?"

  "A regular trove of treasures," I bluffed as I opened it slightly so I could figure out what Sendrei had packed. I smiled and nodded my head as I recognized the contents. "Ever have coffee?"

  "I have not. What is it?"

  "A drink that's consumed by better than half the entire adult population of humanity," I said.

  "That is a market not currently available to me," he answered.

  "Surely you've noticed we're all basically the same. Human, Pogona, Felio. You name a humanoid and I'll tell you, they're a fresh market just waiting to be converted."

  "I would sample this product," he said.

  "What, so you can do your chemical analysis and reproduce it?" I asked. "Doesn't work. Humans have been trying to synthesize coffee for millennia. A connoisseur can tell. No, you have to grow coffee from beans, then roast and grind them if you want a truly exceptional cup."

  "My information is worth more than a beverage," he said. "My current rate for a new recipe is fifty free as long as you buy them within Nexus."

  I pulled the tube that contained two coffee bean plants from the backpack and set it on the table. Next to the plants, I placed a sealed carafe that contained Hunter’s last brew. "I'm offering seedling plants and information on how to grow and care for them. You're looking at a billion-credit industry, just waiting for your careful grooming. Or perhaps you have a partner who would trade for it."

  "It is still not enough," he said.

  "Kroerak have destroyed trillions. They've decimated entire species. And they aren’t done with the Aeratroas region of Dwingeloo. They're coming back. I guarantee it, because I know something you don't."

  "What?"

  "Information has value, Zeke Steele. Once I tell you, it will cease to have trading value," I said.

  "Tell me what it is," Steele said. "I'll assess its value."

  "Doesn't work that way," I said. "I assure you, what I know is real and it's a game changer."

  For a solid minute Steele stood still, not moving even a little. "Does it have to do with the ship that Loose Nuts uncovered on Zuri?"

  "It has to do with the noble we captured and killed on the ship that we uncovered on Zuri," I said.

  "So, there was a noble that was killed," Steele said. "You should not have given that piece of information for free."

  "That's nothing. I'll go even further. She had two attendants and you'll never guess what happened to them," I said. "What I have is juicier. Way bigger."

  Steele fidgeted, his metal face shivering slightly. My best guess was that he was excited. "What were these attendants? What happened to them?" he asked, his speech pattern rushed as if he were struggling to get the words out faster than physically possible.

  "Nah. Enough freebies. We trade information on the Piscivoru for information about the increased Kroerak threat," I said.

  "The coffee plant and liquid are to be part of this deal," he said.

  "You can have the carafe," I said. "I'll keep the seedlings. Maybe you can synthesize a brew that's just as good."

  "Acceptable," he said, opening the carafe and dipping a finger into the steaming hot liquid. "What is this information you have about Kroerak?"

  "I'm afraid it's your turn," I said. "Since you've already consummated the deal, that is."

  "There is a Piscivoru that lives atop a mountain in the great desert of Jarwain," he said. "She should have the information you seek."

  "That's crap," I said. "Piscivoru were killed off five hundred stans ago. There isn't even a reference to them in available histories."

  "There was a colony of Piscivoru that lived on Jarwain," he said. "They traded with a Jarwai
n village for use of land and supplies. I have transmitted the location of this village."

  "That's it?" I asked. "Just the location of a village? Not even the whereabouts of this living Piscivoru?"

  "It is much more than you had. Such is the nature of this type of trade," Steele answered. "Now the information you promised."

  "The Kroerak noble from Zuri was able to breed warriors that were resistant to selich root," I said. "She communicated that information to others before she was killed. It is only a matter of time before the Kroerak return to those that were protected by selich."

  "You can prove this?"

  "We have the information," Jonathan piped up. "You simply need to make yourself open to the receipt."

  "No. Not me." Steele pulled what looked like a tiny glass straw from a previously closed hatch in the side of his torso. "Place the information on the memory device."

  "As you wish," Jonathan answered. "But you will instruct your employee, Miko, to accompany us back to our ship."

  "The trade is fairly executed," Steele answered, accepting the data storage back from Jonathan.

  "You have no reason to fear us," Jonathan said. "We will not attempt to draw you into our collective. We are independent of those that would bring harm to you."

  "So say you," Steele answered. "My caution has allowed for long life."

  "A solitary life does not suit our people," Jonathan said. "We would have community with you."

  "I have gained too much to share with any," Steele answered and wheeled past us, opening the door and zooming through, not looking back.

  I caught Tabby's eye as Jonathan and I followed, exiting the small room. I thumbed my ring. The stone inside the band was a twin to the one in Tabby's ring. Two slivers of a left-over quantum crystal, they were too small to be used for intergalactic communication, but could transmit a pulse when touched. With the bump, I communicated that everything was good. She returned the bump telling me the status in the bar was the same as when we'd left.

  "Miko will join you in ten minutes," Steele said. "It would be best if you left immediately. I prefer to leave violence outside of my establishment."