Star Minds Next Generation

by Barbara G. Tarn

  Imdela Tasart took the loot and Shan-leo's purchases and gave them to her assistant before turning to the two thieves. Wim was brooding, but Mayumi looked calm.

  "How many of these have you stolen?" the commander asked, staring at Mayumi who shrugged.

  "Lost count."

  "Have you ever met the Manuscripts Collector?"

  "No, he deals only with Drox. We don't care who gets the goods as long as we get paid for the job."

  "Are you Drox's only suppliers?" Shan-leo asked.

  "Lately yes," Mayumi answered. "Because we're the best."

  Shan-leo scoffed. "And I hope he pays you well. You know how much he asked me for the last batch of stuff you'd probably just delivered, since you were on Friport at the same time as I was?"

  Wim and Mayumi exchanged a glance when they heard the amount that had made Dadina gasp.

  "Son of a bitch," Wim muttered, staring at his feet.

  "Is he underpaying you?" Shan-leo teased. "You're risking your freedom for a pittance?"

  Mayumi stared at him, her porcelain face totally lacking emotion. "He pays us well. But he certainly makes a good profit," she snapped.

  Commander Tasart crossed her arms over her chest.

  "Help me get the Manuscripts Collector and shut down Drox's trade, and I won't arrest you."

  "You have already arrested us," Wim spat venomously.

  "I will set you free if you help me."

  Mayumi's eyes went from her to Shan-leo and back.

  "Besides freedom, what's in it for us?" she asked. "You shut down Drox's trade, we're out of work."

  "You could always work with the law, instead of against it," Imdela replied. "I'm sure we could find a place for you both in the Galaxy Police, as special agents maybe."

  "I'm not joining the cops," Wim warned.

  "Feel free to keep selling your body as long as you stop stealing," Dadina commented suavely.

  He glared at her and she offered her most innocent smile.

  "She can be your pimp and protect you..." she continued.

  "I'm not a hooker!" he snapped.

  "Oh. I thought you were when you called me on Friport."

  "That's because you're pretty, Blondie, you and your boyfriend alike. I'd have done it for free."

  "Gee, how lucky for us." Dadina rolled her eyes. "What else do you do besides stealing and hustling?"

  "I'm not a hustler! I'm the Rogue Thief of the Swamp!"

  "Wim Drake, identified." Commander Tasart smiled at her tablet. "Would you prefer to end your life in prison or would you rather collaborate? And the young lady is right, you are a hooker, or at least you were on your home planet, Alahairo."

  "I took him off the streets," Mayumi said bluntly. "And no, I don't screw him. He's smart, he's fast and he's been following me like a puppy, so I feel responsible for him."

  "In that case, will you collaborate? If you do, he'll be free to go, along with you."

  "Drox is underpaying you," Shan-leo said, serious. "Don't you want him to be caught? As for the future, you won't be out of work if you come to Marc'harid."

  "You want to screw her, Sire?" Wim challenged him.

  "I'd have already done it, if that was what I wanted," Shan-leo retorted. "Don't piss me off, or I won't allow you to come with her."

  Wim muttered under his breath and averted his eyes. Mayumi's lips twitched, but she didn't smile.

  "So what's the plan, Shan-leo?" she asked.

  "We're calling Drox, ask him to meet us in space." He turned to Imdela. "Give us the Shaara codex, I assume that's what the Collector is after."

  "Drox will never take us to him," Mayumi said.

  "No, but if we meet the dealer out there we can glean the information from his mind. Outside of Friport he doesn't have shields, does he?"

  Slowly Mayumi smiled and nodded.

  ***

  Dadina wasn't happy having to stay on the star-cruiser while Shan-leo went with Mayumi to trap Drox and the Manuscripts Collector. They took Mayumi's Fox, and Wim remained in the custody of the Galaxy Police.

  The mini-cruiser left, but the Haiduc stayed in the star-cruiser's hangar and Dadina's cabin was next to where Wim was kept. Imdela made sure she was comfortable, but Dadina kept thinking about Shan-leo and gave vent to her frustration by insulting Wim who simply stared back with a frown and kept his mouth shut.

  Finally she stopped pacing in front of his cell's transparent energy wall and snorted.

  "If Shan-leo gets in trouble, I'm in trouble too," she grumbled.

  "Your boyfriend is a cyborg Sire and you worry for him?" Wim said, sarcastic. "What about me, locked in a Galaxy Police star-cruiser while my partner is risking her life for both of us?"

  "Oh, shut up! You wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't stolen in the first place!" she snapped.

  "Well, you're lucky you never went hungry," he retorted. "That's usually how one starts – to steal or sell oneself. To get food."

  "Well, you haven't stopped with food, obviously," she muttered. "What else do you steal besides old pieces of paper?"

  "Data mostly," he answered bluntly. "I'm a hacker."

  "Oh." She looked at him, surprised. He didn't look like someone who had studied or knew anything about technology. Maybe it was the long hair, but he looked even more a luddite than Daniele and Chantal. "So you know computers?"

  "And starships." He nodded with a frown.

  "Wait, you were the pilot?" she asked, incredulous. She thought Mayumi did most of the work. The Fox was in her name after all.

  He nodded grudgingly again. Dadina was fascinated. Maybe there was more to him than the androgynous beauty.

  "What about you, Blondie?" he asked. "What do you do at the Sire court?"

  "The Emperor is dead, there's no more Sire court," she replied testily. "I work at the Vaurabi Labs. I'm on the Cybernetics team."

  He looked impressed.

  "So you build robots?" he asked with that dimple forming on his cheek. When he smiled like that, he was adorable.

  "Yes, and prosthetics," she answered quickly, scolding herself for finding him attractive. He was scum – a hooker, a thief...

  "Where are you from?" He continued his inquiry.

  "Sylvania, but I grew up on Marc'harid."

  "Wow. Lucky gal. Makes you an outsider on your own planet, I guess."

  "You could say that. I went back a month ago, but I don't feel at home there."

  "At least you have a place to call home."

  He averted his eyes with a sigh, leaving her speechless.

  She decided to go back to her cabin. She had a lot to ponder until Shan-leo gave her news...

  ***

  "I've got the Galaxy Police on my tail, I need to dump the loot," Mayumi said, giving Drox meeting coordinates.

  Shan-leo observed her, wondering what was behind the gruff, tough-girl exterior. He knew by now she was his age and had run away from Xi-kong to avoid being experimented upon. ESPs were rare outside of Marc'harid and Shan-leo wasn't surprised she'd had to flee. Her story had been told with such a flat tone, though, that he knew there was more to it. Except he couldn't break through her mind shields.

  She ended the communication with Drox and turned to look at him.

  "What are you staring at?" she asked bluntly.

  "You have no idea of how refreshing it is to find a non-Sire shielded mind," he said.

  She smiled against her will. "It is refreshing dealing with someone who doesn’t throw his thoughts at me," she conceded. "We would make a good team."

  "Are you dumping poor Wim?" he protested, feigning shock.

  She shrugged. "He knows I don't love him. And he's three years younger than me. On my planet, men must be older to protect their women."

  "That's a fairly common tradition." Shan-leo scoffed. "My parents were the same age. Much like you and me."

  "You and me what?" Her eyebrows formed perfect arches over her slanted eyes.

  He averted his eyes, thinking his
father would never allow him to marry a commoner and a non-Sire. Or maybe, who knew, things were changing on Marc'harid. He could forget politics and being the emperor's grandson and do what he wanted with his life. He doubted his father would force him into an arranged marriage.

  "Nothing," he muttered, uneasy.

  Why was he thinking about marriage anyway? Must be Mayumi – who knew why, since she wasn't flirting with him. They were working together to take down a stolen goods trade. A good team indeed, but not headed into a romantic relationship of any kind.

  "You're a strange young man, Prince Shan-leo," she said, thoughtful.

  "Oh, please!" He snorted. "Nobody has called me 'prince' in years!"

  She grinned. "But you are a prince. Your manners and your birth come through every pore of your skin, including the silicone ones."

  Jarred, he changed the subject.

  "That's enough, Mayumi. How much longer to the rendezvous with Drox?"

  He let her go and meet the dealer alone. Drox would be suspicious if he saw him instead of Wim.

  Drox's starship was slightly smaller than the Fox and he maneuvered it so that a short sealed tunnel could join the two spacecraft. Mayumi went to the passage with the stolen codex while Shan-leo remained on deck.

  He felt Drox's greed and also read the Manuscripts Collector's name in his mind. Frowning, Shan-leo entered the name in the computer. It sounded familiar.

  Mayumi came back and Drox's starship detached itself from the Fox.

  "Endonald Rotshy," she said, sitting in the pilot seat. "Should we follow him?"

  "No. I'm sending the data to Commander Tasart. Let's meet her on Wega."

  ***

  Endonald Rotshy was in his mid-thirties, with pale skin, green eyes and short, wavy, dark brown hair. A brainy, elegant-featured man with practically no talent whatsoever, he lived with a celebrity that shone some of the limelight on him. Of average height and quite muscular, he had inherited a fortune, and his good looks had brought to his bed a fading show business star.

  M'all'ideo D'aqui, known as Maldak to his fans, was a tall Ulba'wissian with very dark brown skin, who had risen to fame playing the cyborg in teen Shan-leo's favorite show, Cybercop. He'd put on weight since, being in his forties now, but was still quite good-looking. His dark skin tone contrasted with Endonald's pale one and they were known as the most fashionable same-sex couple of the galaxy.

  Shan-leo and Dadina watched from the privacy of the Haiduc the drama unfolding in front of their eyes. Imdela Tasart had released Wim Drake and Shan-leo had left the Fox when Drox landed in Endonald Rotshy's private spaceport with the loot. The Galaxy Police followed him and knocked on the Rotshy Mansion door, catching them both red-handed.

  The arrest of the billionaire from Wega immediately made the headlines all over the meganet. It was quite a shock to discover he'd gathered the most ancient and important manuscripts of Humanoid history for his personal use – mostly stealing them through dubious dealers such as the one who'd been arrested with him.

  Imdela Tasart proudly showed the loot, hidden in Endonald's wing of the house, the rooms he shared neither with his lover, nor with his sister. A journalist asked impassive Endonald Rotshy why he did it.

  "Because I could," was the short answer. The Wegan billionaire didn't look upset by the scandal and kept his cool throughout the trial. He went to prison without losing his pride and didn't bother explaining his actions to anyone.

  "Why manuscripts?" remained unanswered until a comment from Maldak shed some light on the case.

  "He can't even write his own name," Maldak said with contempt, proclaiming his shock at discovering his lover's secret collection. Their relationship was over and he announced it with the eloquence of a drama queen. He had finally received a script that would mark his comeback as the cyborg that had made him famous and looked forward to moving on with his life and career.

  Shan-leo scoffed. "What a pair," he commented.

  Dadina was thoughtful. "Which pair?" she asked absentmindedly.

  He knew she was still thinking about Wim, who had vanished with Mayumi to go back to the shadow world of outlaws and rogues.

  "Dadina, I think we should go home," Shan-leo said. "We take back the Shaara codex, allow me a week at the most in the Library of Cosmic Wisdom, and then we can call it quits."

  "Fine," Dadina muttered. "I guess it's time to go back... I miss our friends."

  Shan-leo laughed. They were a big family back home.

  "Yes, I miss them all too." He hugged her. "Let's go to Mirabilis and then home. I wonder how Kay-low is doing with his new siblings..."

  ***

  Shan-leo's arm started malfunctioning while he was copying a page of the Shaara codex he'd taken back to the Library of Cosmic Wisdom. The quill broke from the sudden pressure and the artificial fingers started quivering uncontrollably.

  "Shit!" Shan-leo whispered, holding the prosthetic wrist as hard as he could, unable to stop the shaking. "Dadina!" he called, panicking. Suddenly the bionic arm wasn't part of him anymore. He couldn't feel it or control it.

  Dadina rushed in the room, saw the shaking arm and wiggling fingers and cursed.

  "Getting my tools!" she shouted, running out again.

  Ndo Koyo came in with her and observed, worried, as Dadina worked on the prosthetic, frowning in concentration.

  "I've lost contact," Shan-leo said with a shaky voice. "I don't feel my arm anymore!"

  Dadina grabbed the middle finger and took off the silver nail with a sharp pop. The arm stopped moving and Shan-leo relaxed a little as his nerves slowly reconnected with the prosthetic.

  "What happened?" he asked, opening and closing his artificial hand to check that it worked.

  "The Haiduc's microchip interfered and caused the malfunction," Dadina answered, still frowning and observing the prosthetic. "I guess you'll have to use the remote key, like everybody else."

  "Fine with me." He shook his head with a sigh of relief. He touched the transparent silicone of the arm and felt it again. "Yep, now it's fine."

  Dadina exhaled and relaxed. "Show it to Tyro and Markandeya anyway, there might be other things to fix."

  "Will do." Shan-leo gathered his things. "I guess it's time we leave. Thank you, Ndo Koyo, for allowing me to study a few of your treasures..."

  11. HIRO

  When the Haiduc landed on Marc'harid, it was welcomed by a few more people than the ones waiting for it after the trip to Alahairo: Kol-ian, Ker-ris, Maela, Daniele and Chantal were all eager to hear about Shan-leo and Dadina's trip.

  "Where are Laura and David?" Shan-leo asked, amused, noticing the absence of the Earthlings' children.

  "With Astrid and Kay-low," Chantal answered with a smile. "Gari and N'ell are watching them."

  "Did you go to Earth?" Daniele added, obviously eager to hear about that.

  Shan-leo chuckled as they all headed for their apartments in the former Imperial wing of the palace.

  "Yes, and I caught acute bronchitis from the polluted air," he answered. "Luckily we still had Erika with us and the Xi-kongian doctors did the rest."

  "Oh." Daniele was disappointed. "So it's still not good to breathe."

  "Halyss said in a few more years it will be all right," Dadina assured. "And by then the stolen manuscripts will be back home."

  "Halyss?" Maela frowned. "Sounds like a Reptilian name."

  "Reptoid," Shan-leo corrected. "He's S'lyss's son, and had a Gaian mother, so when they joined the Star Nations, he went back."

  "The bastard son who helped us to locate the Hall of Pain." Maela nodded, thoughtful.

  "And he was born on Earth?" Chantal marveled. "I remember him, he looked more like a blue dragon than a brown lizard like his sneaky father!"

  "Yes, he was born in the Asian mountains, probably the Himalayas, but he wasn't very specific." Shan-leo smiled. "He directed me to Delhi saying it was close to where he was born."

  They reached the common living room and Ker-ris pull
ed Shan-leo to sit by his side while Dadina sat next to her mother.

  "Missed you." Ker-ris squeezed his son. "What else have you been doing besides getting sick on Gaia?"

  "We helped Commander Tasart to shut down a stolen manuscripts trade," Shan-leo answered with a grin. "Ndo Koyo was very happy to retrieve an ancient Shaara codex, and the Magna Carta was on the way home with a few more illuminated treasures when we left the Wega orbit."

  "Who had a Shaara codex?" Kol-ian asked, puzzled. "They're extinct, aren't they?"

  "Which makes it even more precious. It's at the Library of Cosmic Wisdom of Humanoids in the old town of Mirabilis. The Chief Librarian kept it in a vault, but the telepath thief read the access codes in his mind and got in with an accomplice. Ndo Koyo couldn't understand how they did it, but even I easily read his mind without his knowledge..."

  "Ndo... what?" Daniele guffawed. "Ndo koyo koyo!" he burst out laughing.

  "It's just Ndo Koyo," Shan-leo said patiently. "And whatever sounds so funny to you is lost in translation."

  "Sorry, sorry!" Daniele kept laughing. "I guess only a Roman-born like me would get it anyway!"

  Chantal snorted, but Kol-ian and Ker-ris smiled. Like Shan-leo, they could see in his mind what the librarian name sounded like and what it meant, but they couldn't really explain it or even translate it. Something like "What I take, I take" or "I'll get what I can", but with multiple meanings, including sexual ones.

  "So you've helped the police stop the thieves?" Ker-ris asked.

  "Yes, I risked my life dealing with outlaws and my prosthetic broke in the battle," Shan-leo answered with a dramatic tone.

  Kol-ian chuckled. "I can see you've lost a nail. Must have been a fierce fight."

  "With a pretty young woman with slanted eyes." Dadina teased.

  Shan-leo rolled his eyes. "Look who's talking! The gal who was almost seduced by a long-haired male hooker!"

  "I wasn't!" Dadina scowled. "And get that arm checked before you forget!"