Star Thief

by T. Jackson King

  Laserta stood inside the cabin that hosted the living Harl and ignored the double-barreled lasers aimed at her by the three attack units that Stars crystal had set to guard the stasis tube and power block. White-yellow light shown on the clear glassine of the tube, illuminating the massive body of the Harl. Was it a male? There were no blood breasts on it for the feeding of newborn Harl. She dismissed the thought with her memory of how females in other species varied in their feeding of new younglings. Some spit out partially digested food from their beaks or muzzles. Some provided blood like her Mogel people did. Or milk like the Human bipeds and other mammals did. A few species fed on raw radiation like the Woomba ground-hugger with the teeth that could grind metal. So the female, or dual-sex being as was the Woomba case, did not need to feed a youngling. Anyway, she most cared about what she could do with the Harl when it left stasis and became awake. That would happen on Boundary, some time in the future. Could she convince it to ally with her in the takeover of the Akantha vessel?

  “Stars That Beckon, will you awaken this Harl once we arrive on Boundary?”

  “Of course,” the intelligence said in a booming voice. “The last order given to us Primaries was to preserve all Harl facilities and devices for future use by the Harl. Now that one is alive, we will place ourselves and the planet at the Master’s command.”

  “Do you think other Harl have survived whatever happened 400,000 cycles ago?”

  “Unknown, but probable. A single event is rarely solitary,” the AI said in a softer tone. “All stars have one or more planets. Billions of stars within our galaxy host life friendly planets. Whatever happened to our Harl long ago, it could not be a hundred percent effective in causing total Harl disappearance. No bioform can achieve perfection in results. Only intelligences like myself and perhaps the Akantha of this vessel can perform perfectly.”

  She felt brief amusement. This AI was almost as determined in its attitude as any Mogelian female dominant. Perhaps its long life was the source of such arrogance. “You may be correct. Will this Harl take over the Galactic Council?”

  “It will do whatever it chooses to do. There are hundreds of Harl star vessels on Boundary. Their minds only need awakening and contact with a Harl mind. While such vessels always carried several Harl aboard in the past, one Harl could mind-control a hundred vessels.”

  That surprised her. “Are the Harl minds that powerful? We Mogelians are very good at multi-tasking, but directing the function of many star vessels would be hard for us.”

  “Of course it would be. You Mogelians do not have the mind clarity of the Harl. Nor their ferocity. Perhaps your people could become a servant species to this Harl, if he wishes it.”

  That must not happen, ever. Her fellow dominants would see to that. Organizing the council into a united attack on one planet was possible. But that should happen only after she had collected as much Harl tech as she could stuff into a large cargo vessel.

  “Thank you for that assurance.” She turned to leave. “Keep your Harl safe.”

  “I will. There is no force known to me that can overcome the upgraded abilities of this vessel. And if necessary, I will call for Purple Glow to join me during our return to Boundary.”

  That was promising news. Perhaps she could get the Harl to give her the Harl combat vessel. Then her people could copy it and fight the Harl, if necessary. Far better, though, to use Harl tech to dominate nearby empires and corporate domains. She smiled to herself at the thought of owning a small empire. That could happen. She would make it happen.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Two weeks had passed since our battle with the Nooner globe-ships. I was pleased to find at the second Gate that all Nooner star vessels were a light day distant from the Gate. None of the vessels in the K-class star system transmitted anything to us and we said nothing to them. Our entry into the first Gate of the Fusion Domain had gone smoothly. It had cost me only one gravband and seven bars of gold to gain passage through the three Gates within their domain. Now, we were about to exit into the first Gate controlled by the Guidance Domain. It served an F-class white-yellow star. Galactic Council records said this corporate domain specialized in training beings in diplomacy and effective corporate negotiations. All its trainees worked under indenture contract for seven or ten years, after which they were able to sell their talents to whatever empire or domain offered them the best price. I had heard this was a very successful domain since it was run by a variety of species, all of whom had in common greed and the desire to train other beings so the corporation could become richer. And expand its spatial control to more systems with beings who could be properly trained. My Earth history lessons suggested a similarity between this domain and the planetary corporation named Amazon.

  “Captain, we exit in 29 seconds,” chittered Meander.

  I sat forward against my accel straps. So did Laserta on my right. Clearly she was eager about something. I did not care so long as she stayed silent during our contact with a Guidance vessel, or vessels.

  “Influencer, put up on the vidscreen any incoming neutrino transmission. Weapons, be prepared to defend us. Pilot, take vessel control as soon as we exit into normal space. Engineer, begin feeding fusion pellets to our thrusters. I want us able to move to ten psol very quickly.”

  “All weapons are energized,” hissed Sharp Claw.

  Lotan, Flow and Draken acknowledged my orders. Meander looked my way, her compound eyes bright.

  “Exiting wormhole transit,” she chittered.

  Black space filled the vidscreen. A white-yellow star glowed in the center. A system graphic came on. Eleven planets showed. Fifteen moving neutrino sources were close to planets four and five. A single moving neutrino source lay at 100,000 klicks out from the Gate. Its thrusters came alive and it moved toward us at one psol. Which matched our own exit speed.

  Claw tapped her panel. “Sensors say Guidance vessel is a trade craft. However emissions from it indicate it is armed with energy weapons as powerful as a Battleclaw vessel. Captain?”

  I checked the scope image that joined the true space and graphic images. It showed a vessel that was a long tube with globes at the nose and stern. “Weapons, do not fire on the vessel. But hold ready. Pilot, put our vector track into a random walk mode. Let’s see what the vessel leader has to say.”

  “As you command,” Claw hissed low, sounding frustrated.

  “Moving to random walk vector track,” chirped Flow.

  “Incoming neutrino transmission,” Lotan clicked amidst a strong lemon odor.

  A Control Chamber formed in the middle of the vidscreen. It resembled our chamber in its forward placement of crew function stations. The center was the location of a large red-furred being who resembled an Earth orangutan. Except this primate wore a purple and green vest, blue trousers and had status rings hanging from its large ears. Dark brown eyes stared at me from below a broad forehead. In front of the primate were a mix of avian, reptile and mammal beings who wore similar uniforms. What most shocked me, though, was the being who sat in a seat on the right side of the primate. A human woman close to my age looked up at her vidscreen. Blue eyes shown bright in an angular face. Her shiny black hair was cut in an Earth style ten years in the past. Her smooth brown face showed brief surprise, then total neutrality. Her pale pink lips said nothing.

  “You must be Captain Jake Vitades of the star vessel Akantha, on your way to a Harl ruin located further up Scutum Arm,” grunted the long-haired primate, his bare red cheeks not showing any expression. His furry right hand lifted in a gesture I did not recognize. “What is your purpose within the Guidance Domain?”

  I jerked my attention away from the young woman. Lotan moved to stand before me, his stance moving smoothly into the gesture dance of Friend Needing Help.

  I waved to the commander of the Guidance vessel. “Yes, I am Jake Demetrius Vitades. I gather someone in the Fusion Domain has advised you of my transit through their Gates.”

  “Someone did,”
the commander grunted. “I am Weeltoe, Guidance Primary, of the vessel Instruction.” The primate paused, as if waiting for something. Me.

  I smiled slightly since surely it knew human body language from the presence of a woman on his vessel. “Guidance Primary Weeltoe, I seek safe passage through the three Gates of your domain. As you know by now, I am willing to pay a passage fee in the form of precious metal bars.”

  The primate’s large ears moved slightly. “I hear you also traded a personal gravity belt to the Fusion Domain vessel leader in return for passage through their domain. Do you offer me a similar package of inducements?”

  Was this primate suggesting it did not like bribes? “No, Guidance Primary, I do not offer inducements. I simply recognize it costs any domain or empire a large amount of Galactic Credits to station watch vessels at every Gate within their domain. A passage fee is normal to pay for the fuel and staff expenses of such a posting.”

  The young woman, who wore a close-fitting purple and green shirt and blue slacks, with only small gold rings hanging from her ears, turned and whispered something to the large primate. He nodded to her, then faced me.

  “My consultant trainee indicates you have offered Harl ruin exploration adventures on the Dark Services Listing. Is this correct?”

  “It is correct.” Was this being a stickler for procedure? Or something else? “It is how I legally earn the credits to pay my crew, buy fuel and food, and pay docking fees.”

  “And now you take an employer to this Harl ruin site further uparm?” he grunted.

  “That is also correct. My Employer is Laserta of the Mogel people, of the world Nastura, in the Sagittarius Arm. She has been patient during an unusually long trek to visit several Harl worlds.”

  “Mogelian female dominants are not known for their patience,” Weeltoe grunted. “Perhaps you are a born diplomat?”

  I smiled. “Not at all! I have heard of the years of training given to trainees within the domain of Guidance. The reputation of your trainees is galaxy-wide.” I focused on the slender, attractive woman. “Is the human female one of your trainees?”

  Weeltoe opened his mouth. His white teeth were large. While mostly molars, his front teeth were incisors every bit as sharp as those in humans. “Kalina Borisova Stoyanova has been my trainee for seven Earth years,” he grunted harshly. “Three more years remain in her indentureship. Why do you ask?”

  The woman was a Bulgar based on the Slavic name style. Wild emotions flooded through me. This was now about more than securing a passage code. “Guidance Primary Weeltoe, I ask because I wonder if Kalina Borisova wishes early release from her indentureship. I could assist in that. Does she?”

  The long red fur of the big primate rippled as he leaned forward. Then he looked to his right at the woman. “What is your response, young one?”

  The woman’s blue eyes widened. Then her jaw tightened. “I do not require early release. But I am curious what price this human male might offer to you. Young males such as he often focus solely on obtaining a female for sex.”

  Lotan changed his dance to Willing To Be Generous. The eyes of both Kalina and Weeltoe watched him even as they often glanced at me. Laserta’s hands became fists of impatience but she said nothing. Her recent duty cleaning the Food Alcoves in the Galley had taught her what it meant to be a crew being. My other crew folks watched their panels, sometimes glancing up at the vidscreen.

  “Guidance Primary Weeltoe, I am a young male but I asked my question because young Borisova is the first human of any gender I have met in the nine years since my parents sold me into indentureship. She must be special to have drawn the interest of the Guidance Empire.”

  “She is talented,” the primate grunted. “Her training has focused on cultural analysis of alien cultures as a means to aiding corporate negotiations. Now, what do you offer me for a passage code through our domain?”

  This primate was no fool. Nor a lazy functionary. “Guidance Primary Weeltoe, I offer you what I gave to the Fusion folks. Seven bars of gold and a personal gravband. Does that suffice?”

  The primate sat back in his cushioned seat with a large back and headrest. He moved his arms off his armrests and interlaced fingers above his lap. I noticed then the gold wire woven into the sandals he wore. He had five toes on each foot and five fingers on each hand. So similar to us humans. Was he as sneaky as some humans? The alien primate blinked his dark brown eyes.

  “It suffices. However, what would you offer to buy out the remaining three years of Consultant Borisova’s indentureship?”

  Was he playing with me? Or was he just being corporate greedy? “The gravband is worth several million Galactic Credits. Your domain could compete with Fusion for the rights to sell such gravbands within your star arm.” I paused, noticing how Weeltoe’s crew beings were not gesturing or talking to him. Clearly he insisted on tight discipline. “However, obtaining a well-trained consultant like Borisova would greatly aid me in my Employer negotiations and in any future trade operations I might undertake. We have obtained multiple Harl tech items. Two of which are mounted on the hull of my vessel.”

  Weeltoe nodded slowly. “Yes, you obtained an antimatter beamer, somehow. To the dismay of the Nooner Empire. Such a weapon does not exist among any of the empires and domains we of Guidance know about. Do you offer me an antimatter beamer?”

  “No, I do not.” The Borisova woman lifted her black eyebrows. Then she whispered something to Weeltoe. The primate kept his hands interlaced and waited. “However, I have scavenged a gravity projector from one of the ruin complexes we visited. I can offer it to you, along with a disk of instructions on its power needs and effective range.”

  Up front Sharp Claw turned to me and gave hand gestures that told me Weeltoe’s vessel was within 20,000 klicks of our vessel. Just what I needed to know.

  “Gravity projectors also are new to Galactic Council members,” Weeltoe grunted. “Would Guidance Domain be the sole possessor of such tech?”

  “You would.”

  “Show me an image of this projector.”

  “Weapons, transmit an image of the projector stored in our hangar.”

  “Transmitting,” hissed Claw.

  Weeltoe looked down at his left armrest, then up at me. “Interesting. The weapon’s form matches an installation on the rear globe of your vessel. How does it work?”

  I smiled, showing lots of teeth. Borisova frowned worriedly. Weeltoe’s face went blank. “Weapons, engage the Guidance vessel Instruction with our gravity projector.”

  “As you command, Captain Vitades.” The feminine reptile touched her control panel. A slight vibration touched my boots. Stars had warned me use of a projector in space would require a larger amount of energy than using it on a planet. A planet gave the weapon an unmovable foundation. Using the weapon against another star vessel meant the two would be pulled toward each other. Zero-point power was required to grab local space-time and hold my vessel in place as the projector grabbed and held the other vessel.

  “Guidance Primary Weeltoe, have your vessel flip over and attempt to move away from me using your thrusters.”

  The big primate looked to an avian crew being. “Reverse vessel orientation. Bring thrusters up to ten psol,” he grunted.

  “Reversing orientation. Raising thruster levels,” chirped the blue-feathered avian from its control pedestal. In seconds its two wings spread outward. “Guidance Primary! We are not moving away!” The avian looked down at its panel. “Nor are we moving toward the Akantha vessel. All momentum and all inertia have been canceled!”

  The primate’s red-skinned forehead wrinkled. His broad mouth tightened, then opened. “It seems your weapon does indeed work. And its range is at least 20,000 Earth kilometers.”

  I smiled again. “True to both statements. However, I have access to a Dark Energy power source that increases the weapon’s combat range. If you mount it on your vessel its range would be just 5,000 kilometers, assuming it was powered by a single fusion rea
ctor.”

  “The weapon alone requires all the output of a fusion reactor?” said Borisova sharply, her expression startled.

  “Young one, I lead, you learn,” grunted Weeltoe softly. The primate focused on Jake. “Captain Jake Vitades, you are familiar with indentureships. However you may not know that the Guidance Domain requires all trainees to transmit ten percent of their annual earnings to the domain, for life. We thus gain long-term income from every trainee. Consultant trainee Borisova would thus generate a large income during her human lifetime. Certainly more than a few million Galactic Credits.”

  I had not known that detail. It mattered not. Clearly Weeltoe was impressed with the gravity projector. “Guidance Primary, the gravband belt I offered was worth several million credits.” I gestured nonchalantly at him. “If I trade you the gravity projector device for obtaining the negotiation services of trainee Borisova, that offer is withdrawn. The projector itself is worth enough to cover a passage code through every Gate within Guidance Domain, cover any docking fees at any market world in your domain, and compensate for losing three years of her service to you along with lifetime earnings from her future work. Will you trade her to me for service on my vessel?”

  Weeltoe did not seem surprised at the change to my trade offer. He turned to Borisova. “Young one, do you wish to serve on this human’s vessel as his cultural analysis consultant? If you do not, you may stay on my vessel and we will accept his first offer.”

  The primate’s offer of choice to his trainee surprised me. Then pleased me. It seemed as if the Guidance Domain had some values in common with the American Republic that now controlled most of the western hemisphere of Earth. And I had no desire to attack his vessel. She might be hurt in an attack. And I would draw more attention to myself and my vessel. Already too much was known about the Harl tech we had acquired. My return to Sagittarius Arm would not be unnoticed by the empires and domains there.