What impressed me most lay below the fearsome head. The Harl’s shoulders were thick and corded with muscles. The two arms that sprang from the shoulders were partly bear-like and partly human-like. The muscles on the arms were as thick as my thighs. Its elbows seemed to allow sideways rotation based on the angle of one arm. Each arm ended in a four-fingered hand that was as big as my face. Claws adorned the tips of each finger, similar to the fingerclaws of Sharp Claw. Except these claws were twice the length of hers. Below the shoulders was a massive chest. While its upper chest had pectorals like a human, more muscles ran from its lower chest backward and up to its back. Clearly the Harl had evolved the ability to pick up heavy loads, in addition to hunting and eating meat animals. The Harl had a flat stomach with no sign of a navel, though the fur was thick over its entire body. From its waist hung a flat sheet that went halfway down to its knees. The sheet reminded me of a Scottish kilt. Circles within circles covered the flat sheet. The heavily muscled legs were twice the thickness of my own legs and its giant feet with toeclaws wore a kind of open toed sandal. The Harl shape that glinted under the room light struck me as the equal of the Zeus bronze created by the ancient Greek sculptor Phideas. The shape was a three meter tall masterpiece that looked so alive I had thought it was living upon my first view of it.
“There is no tech on the body form,” hissed Sharp Claw. “Yet its stance is one of ferocity. As if it wants to attack us.”
So I too had thought. “Stars That Beckon, does the Harl statue represent someone?”
A low hum sounded. “It does. It depicts the first emperor of the Harl, His Supreme Glory Yik-tak Domene. He led the Harl into the stars of this galaxy.”
“Ignore it!” barked Laserta. “I want the gravity projector on the 34th level. The ramps lead upward!”
My scan of the room itself had not shown any gravlift tube or platform. It seemed visitors were expected to walk up a ramp to the next level. I headed for the left side ramp.
“Team, follow me.”
Sharp Claw bounded ahead of me, intent on taking point. Her shoulder muscles were bunched up and her forward leaning posture said she was ready to attack anything that moved.
“You wish to ascend to the 34th level?” called the tower AI.
“We do,” I responded before Laserta could insult the AI that had not shown us any hostility.
“On the level above is a gravlift shaft that will take you to any level within this tower.”
Then what was the purpose of the ramps? Why not have the gravlift begin on ground level? By the time I thought that I was already treading on the black stone of the ascending ramp. In a few seconds we reached the second level. It was a round room bigger than the room below. Which made sense in view of the tower’s giant tube form that had curved setbacks, making the tower resemble a cluster of tubes joined to a common base. There was plenty of room on each tower level for many such rooms. Briefly I wondered why the tower, and other towers that fronted the plaza, were round. Clearly the Harl liked round rooms. And circles had covered the Harl statue’s flat waist cloth. Maybe an original cave burrow had been circular. Or maybe it reflected an imperial building style. The Harl buildings I’d seen on other worlds were a variety of shapes from geodesic domes to square blocks to tubular skytowers with set-back levels like this tower. On those other worlds there were also multiple basement levels, some of which had held tech that we salvaged. I hoped there was transportable tech on this tower’s levels. Laserta would not leave this world without her tech spoils.
“Captain, the walls!” chittered Meander.
I looked away from the gravlift shaft that faced the top of the ramp and saw what the hard-skinned praying mantis was gesturing at.
“We’ve seen bas-reliefs on other worlds.”
“True,” she chittered. “But look at the starting panels on each side of the shaft. On the right the image shows the start of life on a world. On the left the image ends with Harl beings entering a globular starship.”
I concentrated on what Meander had noted. Looking further to the right I saw the lifeforms change from four-legged mammals that resembled badgers into two-legged standing forms that were Harl-like. A glance to the left showed carved panels that continued the passage of time as the Harl evolved on their home world.
“Stars That Beckon, do these carved panels represent the history of the Harl? And their home world?”
“They do,” the AI said.
As Flow, Draken, Sharp Claw, Laserta and Meander clustered around me, I asked the obvious.
“Do you know where the Harl home world is located?”
“I do.”
“Will you depict its location within this galaxy?”
“Observe the air space to your left.”
A three meter high hologram took form in the air. Within it was the blackness of interstellar space. Centered within the blackness was a top down view of the Milky Way galaxy. The spiral arms of the galaxy shone white, blue, yellow and red as different star types clustered together. Near the central bar of stars was the Norma Arm. Next came the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. The third arm was Sagittarius-Carina. Beyond it was the Orion Arm that held Sol and Earth. Further out lay Perseus Arm. Next came Cygnus Arm, the sixth and final galactic arm of stars. A small green dot glowed in a part of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm. It lay a quarter the width of the galaxy distant from our current location, which lay within Sagittarius Arm. Or about 25,000 light years distant.
“Stars!” chittered Meander excitedly. “Can you display the locations of all Gates within the galaxy? And their associated star types?”
I didn’t blame the arthropod for jumping in. She was hoping to find her home star and home world, the place from which she had been stolen and later sold as a slave. And her question was a classic one that all star-traveling species who knew of the Gates wondered about.
“I can display that data. However, I would need to enlarge this hologram to the size of this tower in order to accurately depict all 93,127 Gates and their associated stars.”
I held up my tablet. “Stars, can you transfer that data and associated imagery to my vidtablet? It is a non-thinking—”
“Memory device,” the AI interrupted. “While its design is basic and does not use quantum entanglement for data sourcing, it has enough memory for the Gate data. Done.”
Jake, such data would be useful to me also, said Akantha.
Will do.
“Stars That Beckon, would you also transfer the data and images to the Tessene vessel that is controlled by the AI Akantha?”
“Her mind has opened to my mind. The transfer is done. The gravlift opens now for your transit to the 34th level.”
The circle outline on the shaft spiraled open as if it were a giant camera lens of the antique type.
I stepped forward, feeling overwhelmed by the easy generosity of the Harl AI. The statue of the Harl on ground level was worth a small fortune. The listing of all Gate locations and associated stars were worth a small empire. Suddenly I was rich beyond my dreams. Leastwise the dreams I’d had as a youth wandering among the ruins of Athens, Sparta, Mycenae, Olympus and other classic Greek sites. Now I could visit any part of the Milky Way. Now I could take employers to the far side of the galaxy, an area not visited by any alien species on this side of the galaxy. But as the shaft entry spiraled shut and we rose to the 34th level upon Laserta’s spoken demand, I wondered what price the Harl AI would demand for its generosity.
One rule of life that I had learned early in my hometown of Edessa was “there are no free meals in our village”. My time with Lik Sotomor and my travels among the stars had documented that as a universal principle. My crew, as much as most of them liked me, worked for the Galactic credits I paid them. And I worked for employers like Laserta to pay my crew, buy fuel and supplies, and slowly build a savings that might someday allow me to retire on an alien resort planet. If I ever got bored visiting alien ruins and dead worlds. I smiled at myself. Doing interstellar archaeology w
as never boring. Dangerous, yes. Deadly, sometimes. Never boring.
Laserta stepped out into a circular hallway. To her right and left were open arches that gave access to rooms that were illuminated in the yellow light of the local star. She moved into the hallway. Behind her came the clatter of boots, scaled feet and whispering feathers. Time to get to her objective.
“Stars, which chamber contains the gravity projector that you used to bring down my vessel?”
“The third chamber to your right is adjacent to the projector.”
She turned and headed for the chamber, ignoring the carved bas-reliefs that lined the hallway walls. A flash of silvery scales showed as the crew being Sharp Claws jumped ahead of her, one hand holding a plasma pistol and the other holding a magrail rifle. Amusement filled her. Her own weapons were sufficient to destroy anything mobile, whether organic or mechbot. Behind her came the other crew beings. The booted feet of the captain were directly behind her, in support position like any male should be. At the third archway she turned left and entered the chamber. Sharp Claw moved ahead of her, inspecting closely the stone benches, tables and sculptures that sparsely adorned the chamber. Ahead of her beckoned another archway. It led to an outer balcony of black stone. She headed for it.
“Stars That Beckon, where is the projector?”
“It is outside, located on the wall of this tower.”
Following behind Sharp Claw she stepped out onto a railed balcony. The railing rose to almost her chin. Which made sense if the railing was intended to protect the three meter tall Harl beings. As Vitades and his crew beings came out onto the wide balcony, she looked right, then left. To her left, just beyond the railing, was a white dome surmounted by an array of golden tubes. The tubes were aimed downward at the Human’s star vessel. The white base of the projector appeared to flow into the black stone of the tower wall. Irritation touched her.
“Stars, how can I detach the projector from the wall?”
“You cannot. The projector is as much a part of this tower as your fur is part of you.”
Fury filled her mind. In front of her was a device that any empire or corporate domain would pay dearly to own and reverse engineer so they could build their own weapon copies. No star vessel could escape from a vessel outfitted with such a device. Yet she could not obtain it for transport on the floater pad atop the back of the crew being Engineer. Vitades moved to her side.
“Stars,” he called. “Are there replacement gravity projectors that can be moved to other locations? Such as my Tessene vessel?”
A low hum sounded. “There are. My mind touch with your Akantha intelligence showed you are a scavenger of ancient technology, such as that found in Harl cities. Do you wish to possess such a device?”
“Yes, I wish to possess such a device,” Vitades said, looking to her with his small gold-brown eyes.
The visor of his helmet was clear. But the enviro-suit he wore was dark blue. The backpack he wore was covered by a cloak that rendered it invisible. This Human possessed a stealth robe that could make his form invisible. Or more accurately, undetectable by scanners such as those she and others wore on their bodies. It was a robe she wished to possess. But gaining a gravity projector was even better. She spoke.
“The projector will solely belong to me.”
Vitades showed his white teeth. “That is fine with me.” He looked away. “Stars, how soon can you transport a projector to my vessel?”
A hum sounded. “Within a quarter of an arc. However, the projector will not work without access to a power supply. My mind touch with your Akantha indicates your Biter-class vessel possesses a single fusion reactor of standard Tessene design. Do you wish the projector to be mounted to your vessel?”
No!
The Human showed white teeth again. “Yes! Please attach the projector to my vessel. And make it respond to a terminal in my Control Chamber.”
“It will be done. Your Akantha has provided me with the structural layout of your vessel. However, be warned the power of the device will not equal the power it has when connected to this tower.”
The Human male frowned. “What power will it have?”
“In Human terms, it will attract physical objects with the power of 2.4 gees, equal to the gravity pull of your world Jupiter.”
She felt brief disappointment. The device would not have the attraction power of a small star. Still, it would work and it would overcome the fusion pulse thrust of any current star vessel.
“What will its range be?” she asked, reasserting her role as the employer of Vitades.
“The gravity beam projector will be effective out to a range of 20,000 kilometers, as used by Humans.”
That was suitable for her purposes. She motioned Vitades to be silent. Her glance at his crew beings told them she would be the one speaking. Her original objectives for coming to this world still remained.
“Stars That Beckon, is there a Harl star vessel present in this city?”
“There are 107 such vessels in this city.”
Happiness touched her. “Wonderful! Will you move one of them to the central plaza? I wish to pilot it myself.”
“You cannot pilot a Harl vessel,” the tower AI said in blunt barking tones. “All Harl vessels are commanded by mind touch. No biological being can pilot a Harl vessel without a mind touch link.”
She ground her teeth. Then she remembered the story of how Vitades had gained his Tessene vessel. “Can you implant a mind touch link device into me? So I can pilot a Harl vessel?”
“I will not do so. Only Harl bioforms are allowed to enter and pilot a Harl vessel.”
Fury overwhelmed her. Her fur stiffened. Her body shook. Then she recalled the second rumor she’d heard about this world. “Stars, are there any living Harl in this city?”
A long low hum sounded in her ears. “Sadly there are no living Harl or Harl in stasis in this city. They left this world long ago.”
Vitades touched her shoulder. On her home world such impertinence would have drawn a claw rake across his face. His visor blocked that option. And she still needed him and his crew beings to return home with the gravity projector.
“What!”
The Human showed his teeth briefly in what she recalled was a sign of humor. “Employer Laserta, you have obtained a powerful device. Shall we depart this world?”
“No!” Lessons learned as the dominant female of her corporate assemblage flared in her mind. “There are likely more working devices in this city that we can possess.” She turned away from the Human. “Stars That Beckon, do you have working devices that will respond to an organic being?”
“I have thousands of such devices,” the AI hummed. “What type do you wish to possess?”
“Something with weapons on it,” she said hurriedly as Vitades opened his mouth.
“A device that can make hull repairs while in space,” the Human said. “My ship intelligence is making repairs to the damage caused by one of the orbitals. However, its repair mechbots operate best in atmosphere.”
“Both device types are now approaching your chamber,” Stars said in a low hum. “I have programmed them to respond to your verbal commands.”
Laserta turned away from the black stone towers and domes that faced the plaza and looked inward, toward the archway she’d entered from the hallway. Scuffing sounds like feet walking fast came to her ears. There were two sound sources. Her hearing was better than that of Vitades, even when he used his enviro suit amplifier. Her people had needed such hearing to survive on their world. Fortunately the hunters that had hunted the Mogelian people were now extinct. The perfect hearing her people had evolved was now part of the toolkit they used to acquire valuables and influence among the star-traveling species of the galaxy. She awaited the arrival of the Harl mechbots.
Sharp Claw sprang past the captain and the employer, landing in the middle of the chamber they had entered. Her hearing had detected the approach of the two mechbots. One of which was weaponed. Her te
am duty was to protect all members from any threat of violence. A weaponed mechbot was surely a threat. She lifted her plasma pistol and the magrail rifle and ran to the chamber entry. Leaning forward she stuck her head past the edge of the archway. Approaching were two mechbots half her size.
“Halt!” she hissed, moving her left hand forward and aiming the pistol at the mechbot with a tube-like projection on top of its round body. “Neutralize your weapons!”
Both mechbots halted. The repair mechbot resembled two squares mounted atop eight wheels that gave it 360 degree movement. Sprouting from the upper square were nine arms that ended in various tool types. Three of the arms elevated to aim at the hallway ceiling. Those arms must be laser welders or similar energy projectors. The round bodied mechbot also moved its tube so it pointed upward.
“Plasma beamer elevated,” hissed the weaponed mechbot.
“Laser cutters aimed away from all biologicals,” hissed the repair mechbot.
Claw stepped fully into the hallway. She aimed her rifle at the repair mechbot and kept her plasma pistol aimed at the weaponed mechbot. Behind her came the sounds of the captain and the employer following her.
“Identify yourselves,” spoke the captain, who was also aiming a weapon at the mechbots, based on what her sensitive ear pits told her.
“This one is Repairs Unit 4793,” said the stack of squares, its English words sounding unnatural to Claw.
Star Thief Page 6
