by T. R. Harris
“Who are they, and what do they want with the mutants?” Adam asked.
“I do not know the true identities of the sponsors, not yet. I have inquiries out and that information will be forthcoming. As to why the mutants are being sought, it is so they can build a portal to another universe.”
Adam recoiled from the revelation. It was common knowledge that the mutants—Panur in particular—could travel between dimensions. After all, he had come originally from the Sol-Kor universe and was quite adept at trans-dimensional travel. If one required a person who could link between universes, Panur was the logical source. It also explained why Adam was involved. He was a conduit to both Lila and Panur.
“Okay,” Adam said. “But why? It’s been proven that some serious dangers lurk in these multi-universes. There must be something the sponsors want in a parallel dimension.”
“It is not a something, but a someone,” Tidus explained. Seeing that he now had the Human’s attention, the former Juirean Overlord leaned back in his chair, savoring the moment. “Allow me to provide a little more background. Dark matter: You are familiar with it, having recently been involved in a caper over the possession of a collector for the elusive—and dangerous—material.”
Tidus smiled wider, seeing the surprise on the faces of the Humans.
“Yes, Priority Acquisitions has sources throughout the galaxy, and therefore I am very aware of the events surrounding the Gracilian research station and the threat that was extended to your planet Earth. It was a remarkable job you did to save your planet. You should all be thanked and rewarded for your efforts.” He looked around at the bare-bones room and pursed his lips. “Yet here you are, struggling to provide for food and shelter after all your heroic deeds on behalf of your species. That hardly seems fair. On a personal note, that is also one of the reasons I left the Juirean Authority. There are far more opportunities for an ambitious being such as myself beyond the confines of my culture. I seek appropriate reward for my efforts—as should each of you—yet for which you have been denied. I am about to remedy that.”
“I thought you said you were going to get to the point?” Copernicus snapped.
“Patience, Mr. Smith. I shall continue. Dark matter, as you are aware, is an extremely dangerous material when allowed to contact other variations of itself. The Aris could attract and harness this energy with impunity, yet that was from their nature. They are pacifists. Yet in the hands of beings like us, it becomes the ultimate weapon. However, what if there was a version of dark matter that was completely benign, yet could still generate energy without the explosive effects? And not only that, but it has been postulated that internal wormholes could be created from this material, such as we use for communications, yet for matter. Such links would allow for instantaneous transport throughout the galaxy, as well as to galaxies beyond. The vastness of space would no longer be an obstacle. This may come as a surprise to you, but that is how the Aris traveled three billion years ago. Such advanced beings did not bother with long journeys as they went about conducting their experiments on the microbial life they found on hundreds of worlds. They were beyond that.”
“What does this have to do with travel to another universe?” Adam asked.
“Because that is where this benign dark matter is to be found.”
“In another universe?” Coop clarified.
“Correct.”
“And how do you know this?” Riyad prompted.
“The object of the sponsor’s search made such a journey and reported back the discovery of this dark matter source material. Unfortunately, that was just before his portal closed, trapping him in this parallel dimension…while sitting on the greatest discovery of all time. Imagine the value of his find, if it can be accessed?”
“And that is what Lo’ol’s sponsors want Panur to do?” Adam said. “To open a portal and rescue the prospector—for lack of a better word.”
“Precisely,” said Tidus. “And in return, Lo’ol was offered not only an initial reward, but also a share in the claim.” Tidus smiled. “Instead, he was convinced that his present life had more value, and the information he revealed to me was his path to a longer—if not more prosperous—existence. Now it is for us to fulfill the contract and share in the ultimate bounty.”
“And you need our help in locating Lila and Panur?” Arieel said. Worry was evident on her face.
“The being Lila is your offspring—yours and Adam’s. In addition, there is an uncanny link between you and her. It has been proven that she and Panur arrive at the most opportune times, as either one or both of you are in peril. It is the logic of the sponsors that the mutants will come if they believe you are in danger. And I should also add, Speaker Bol, you were to be the next target for abduction if efforts with Adam Cain failed.”
“Now that you’ve told us this, what do you want?” Adam asked pointedly.
Tidus shrugged. “I wish to share in the recovery fee and any additional residuals that could come from the acquisition and sale of the stable form of dark matter.”
“Why don’t you do what Lo’ol tried and just kidnap them?” Riyad asked.
Adam cocked his head at his friend. What the fuck, Riyad, he thought through his ATD.
Riyad shrugged.
“Of course, I considered that, yet I decided on a more direct approach,” said the Juirean. “I figured it would be easier just to ask for your assistance, since—unlike in our other cases of mutual overlap—there appears to be ample credits for everyone involved.”
Adam smirked; something had just dawned on him. “PR doesn’t know about this, do they?”
Tidus grimaced. “As their agent, I would be allowed only a small percentage of the recovery fee, and none of the residuals. So, as you see, I have much motivation to seek your voluntary assistance rather than use company resources in a more compulsory action. Besides, I suspect forcing the mutants to act on my behalf would be much more difficult than others have assumed. Should Lo’ol have forced their appearance, I believe he would have regretted the outcome. I am more realistic in my dealings with these powerful beings.”
“And well you should!” Arieel scolded. “Lila would not be easily manipulated, especially not from a threat to me or Adam.”
Tidus smiled and held up his hands in defense. “You need not convince me. As I said, I am a realist. I do not seek a confrontation with your offspring, or with Panur. That would be foolish.”
“So how much is this initial recovery fee, the one to rescue the prospector?” Copernicus inquired. He had moved beyond the sales pitch and now wanted details.
“The fee offered to Lo’ol for Adam’s capture was three hundred fifty thousand JCs. Should he have been successful in convincing the mutants to create a link, he would have received another twenty million, plus a small percentage of the claim. That was the unknown—how to gain the cooperation of the mutants…and survive. We will not have that as a concern. With Adam and Arieel involved in the effort, the mutants will gladly cooperate. And then to further answer your inquiry, Mr. Smith, asking for a share of the dark matter source material would be a logical negotiation. I imagine that could equate to many billions of Juirean credits over time—if not more.”
Tidus surveyed the looks on the faces of the three Humans, as well as the Formilian. They were all stunned by the numbers—all except Arieel. She didn’t care about money, having been born into her position and never wanting for anything. But for the others….
“But we don’t know how to contact Lila and Panur,” Adam admitted. “As you said, they show up when they want. Hell, they may not even in our dimension. They spend a lot of time in the Sol-Kor universe, Panur’s home. TD portals are Panur’s specialty, you know. That’s why the sponsors want him.”
Tidus raised his eyebrows. “He is still doing that? That I was not aware. However, if Panur has the current ability to transit dimensions, then our goal should be that much more attainable.”
“If we can find them,” Riyad pointe
d out.
“You are not suggesting we appear to be in distress, just to attract Lila to our aide?” Arieel gasped.
“That would be one possibility,” the Juirean answered honestly.
“I refuse! That would be deceptive and hurtful, relying on the emotions and concern of my daughter for personal gain. I will not allow it!”
“Neither will I,” Adam said. “There has to be another way.”
“How? You are the experts on the mutants. I am open to ideas.” Tidus said.
“Panur had a base, a planet in the Kidis Frontier,” Riyad reported enthusiastically. Then he smiled. “He even called it Panurland.”
“That’s where he had the golden palace.” Adam stated.
“Golden palace?” Tidus asked, his curiosity sparked.
“He had the natives build him a home out of gold,” Riyad explained. “Hell, everything in the place was made out of gold, even the toilets.”
“Is it still there?”
Adam frowned at the Juirean. “Relax, Tidus. You’re talking about billions of credits if we can pull off this mission. You could have a thousand golden palaces for that much.”
Copernicus was bouncing in his chair. “But that’s where we start, right? Panur may be there.”
“I have a question,” Riyad said, his tone suddenly serious. He waved a hand at the people on his side of the table. “Most of us have been to other universes before, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there are an unlimited number of them. How will we know which one to go to, and where—out of an entire universe—to find a single person?”
“The sponsors have that worked out,” Tidus replied confidently. “They have a link to this other universe and the location of their lost native. It is just that the portal no longer works, ostensibly from the other side. I must assume Panur can make it open. If not, then he can use his own means for trans-dimensional travel to make the journey.”
“I’m in!” Coop announced, although no one had asked for a roll call.
Adam looked at Arieel, taking her hand in his. “Are you okay with this?”
Arieel considered the question for a moment before answering. “I suppose so. There does not appear to be any danger to Lila. And I understand how you need the credits.”
Adam smiled. “Don’t worry about Lila; she can take care of herself. It’s others who should worry if this thing goes south.”
“South? I do not understand.” she stated.
“It’s a Human expression,” Tidus replied. “It means if the operation goes to shit—I believe that is the term.”
“Ah, yes, I now recall the colloquialism. Forgive my momentary lapse in understanding.” Arieel turned an exasperated eye to the Juirean. “To this day, I grasp only about half of what I hear from Humans. It is one of their most confusing, yet intriguing traits.”
“So, it’s a go?” Copernicus asked breathlessly.
Adam looked around the table. It was unanimous.
“It’s a go,” he announced. “All we need now is a plan.”
90
The plan—if one could call it that—was two prong.
First, Kaylor and Jym would begin sending a series of cryptic broadcasts from the Colony Ship, hinting at Adam and Arieel’s need for the mutant’s to contact them. No one was sure if Panur and Lila were in the universe to monitor the broadcasts. That was a strange thing to comprehend in the first place, that the pair may be traipsing around another universes. But it was a distinct possibility.
Secondly, Adam and the rest of the team would head out for the planet Worak-nin, the location of Panur’s golden palace. At one time, he’d called the planet his home—if a five-thousand-year-old alien mutant genius could call any place home. But for some reason he’d gravitated to the planet and attempted to put down roots, even if the name he’d given it—Panurland—sounded more like an amusement park than his private sanctuary. Then the entire let’s attack the Sol-Kor universe thing came up, and Panur abandoned Worak-nin, at least for the time being. He may have returned, or at least left clues to another so-called ‘home.’ He had to be somewhere. It was obvious that he and Lila couldn’t spend all their time in the tiny, egg-shaped trans-dimensional starship Panur had built. Yet with the capabilities of the craft, that meant they could be anywhere—literally.
The Juirean bounty hunter Tidus offered to take everyone aboard his very expensive luxury starliner for the journey to the planet, yet none of the Humans would bite. Instead, they would take the Davion, rather than be at the mercy of the blue-haired renegade alien.
Needless to say, when Sherri returned from Hydra-3, it took a while to convince her that the quest was worth their time and expense.
“Bullshit,” she said for the umpteenth time. “Why do you trust that bastard Tidus? He’s only interested in the money.” Tidus was standing in the doorway to the common room, listening. He grinned at the mention of his name.
“And that’s why I believe him,” Copernicus replied. He’d taken the lead in the effort to convince Sherri, and the others were letting him.
“Why, because he believes there’s a fortune at the end of the rainbow?” Sherri countered. “That may be good—for him. But do you really trust him to keep his word about sharing the spoils? Really?”
“We can only do this with Panur and Lila’s help, and if he tries to double-cross us, then he’ll have them to answer to. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes if that happens.” Copernicus glanced at the alien, as if sending a message.
“Even still, it’s a wild goose chase with little chance of success. We could head out into the galaxy and never find the mutants. And then we’d have spent the last of our savings and run the Davion into the ground. You know that ship is the only thing we have to flit around the galaxy in. The Colony Ship is too damn big for that. What happens if the Davion breaks down?” Sherri lifted a hand to stop Coop from responding. “Yeah, I know: You’ll fix it. Sorry, sweetheart, but that one’s getting old.”
Adam had had enough.
“Are you coming or not?” he snapped. “The rest of us are going. It would be nice if you would care to join us.”
“I know you don’t mean that.” Sherri glared at Adam, pouting.
“We do, really,” Coop offered.
Sherri shook her head. “Well, of course I’m in! There’s no way I’m going to let the rest of you do this on your own. You’d just fuck it up if I did.”
Adam gnashed his teeth. “Now that that’s settled…Coop, get what the two of you need aboard the Davion. The rest of us are already packed. We leave in an hour. The sooner we get to Worak-nin, the sooner we’ll know if Panur is there or not. Without the mutants, this mission goes nowhere. We may be back here and hunting down alien fugitives sooner than later if this is a dead end.”
The team scattered, desperate to get on with the mission. Before leaving the common room, Tidus looked at Adam and shook his head. Silly Humans, Adam could almost hear him thinking. Adam shrugged. He couldn’t fault the sentiment.
With the two extra power mods Arieel had brought—along with forty-eight thousand JC’s in cash—the Davion shot out from the Colony Ship, with Tidus’s luxury liner close behind. Before leaving, the Juirean offered to finance the operation, and Adam quickly accepted, taking some pressure off the mission. Just having a few extra credits in reserve made him feel more secure. Sherri was right; he didn’t trust Tidus, either. But he was the only link to Lo’ol’s mysterious sponsors, as feelers were put out across the galaxy using Tidus’s Priority Acquisitions contacts. Adam didn’t know if he’d found anything yet; if he had, he wasn’t telling. Yet on the other hand, Adam and Arieel were the only link to the mutants. All in all, it was a precarious symbiotic relationship, if not a friendly one.
Tidus’s ship was called the NT-4, since most aliens didn’t name their ships. It was designed to be piloted by a crew of two, with accommodations for ten comfortably. The Juirean was the only one aboard. He had to pilot the vessel himself, since h
e didn’t want a crew aboard to share in the bounty. That fact made Adam question whether or not Lo’ol had been set free, as the Juirean had said. He may be alive, but certainly not free. Tidus wouldn’t want him spreading news of the mission to others who might be interested.
Yes, there were things neither party was telling the other. Like the fact that Panur had a trans-dimensional starship capable of hopping between universes at a moment’s notice. Adam didn’t feel the information was pertinent. Without knowing which universe the prospector was in—and where exactly he was within that universe—then the abilities of the TD ship were moot. Besides, the sponsors were going to pay for the repair of their existing portal. Might as well take the money, even if the portal wasn’t absolutely necessary.
The journey from the Formilian system to Worak-nin would take sixteen days. Fortunately, the Humans—and Arieel—were used to sharing confined spaces for extended periods. And besides, the Davion was a KFV-A, which normally carried a crew of twenty-five. There were plenty of berthing compartments, even places to get away from the others, if necessary. All in all, the trip was uneventful, if not boring.
Kaylor and Jym had no luck contacting the mutants by the time the Earth-like world of Worak-nin came into view. Although Adam didn’t truly believe searching the golden palace would bear fruit, he was anxious to see if any of the opulent structure remained. If so, then it would be a good source of cash reserves for his fugitive recovery business. If Panur wasn’t going to use the building, it would be a shame to let all that wealth go to waste.
Adam was kicking himself for not considering this earlier. Now it was all he could think of. The potential for billions of credits from some unknown power source from another universe was one thing. The blocks of glimmering gold bullion on Worak-nin was a bird-in-the-hand. This was something in the here and now.
