The Dancer's Summons

by M. Garnet

  Dark Guardian One:

  The Dancer's Summons

  by

  M. Garnet

  ( c ) copyright by M. Garnet, May 2021

  ISBN 978-1-60394-

  Smashwords Edition

  New Concepts Publishing

  Lake Park, GA

  www.newconceptspublishing.com

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  This is the new adventure of some of the people I have used before, as background but of different new people with real problems. These stories have a different approach to how people deal with usual problems of greed and betrayal. I love writing and using my imagination by picking upon something from our childhood.

  Again I need to give out a special thanks to the head of my publishing company Madris DePasture at New Concepts Publishing and for the wonderful editors that she has on the staff that help clean up and put me on the right track with all my stories.

  I also need to acknowledge the great work by SudaGraphics, Inc. for the distinctive covers that she designs for each of my stories. Covers DO sell books.

  Prologue

  A planet has been lost. As a professor at one of the largest universities, I am going to address the fact that a planet can be lost or erased from all the star maps.

  I am going to start by boring all you folks with some history of our worlds and the known populated universe. It has to do with a recent question a student asked me about the fact that a planet has been lost on the star maps.

  First, put down all your hands, as I am not answering any questions at this time. Yes, we are all aware that in all our travels and the expansion that is still happening and with our archives, we have never truly met an alien race. It seems that the only entity that has the intelligence to survive in the known universe is one that looks like me. Okay, I hear the chuckles.

  What I mean is Homo sapiens or human beings. In all our diversity, we are everywhere on different worlds with different selective traits, but still interchangeable and able to interbreed.

  After uncounted or eons of years, we have developed some individual changes due to separatism or experimentalism. Some are good, some are questionable, and some are dangerous.

  There are monks who have created for us their complete world as a library. They accept only people into their circle who are willing to scour other worlds to find archives and add to the history of everything. It is open to all and works on donations only.

  On board ships, we use a measure called day of 24 hours, with 12 being daylight and 12 being night. The ships hold the gravity at what is termed l g. Most of the worlds that are occupied are close to l g. Where did that measure come from? Some say it is from the ancient myth of Earth, where humans originated. Others say it is what is the most comfortable for Homo sapiens.

  But on worlds like Saw, which has a gravity of over the 1 g., the people are active. They are slightly shorter and broad, and very strong in the bone structure.

  The opposite is less than 1 g. where the people also developed very successfully, but they are thin and tall. They also tend to be pale due to the large numbers of oceans and heavy cloud cover on Ono.

  Although I have not traveled to all of these interesting worlds, I can list many. There is the group of worlds of the Wisoo. They are as different as Homo sapiens can get, yet still, when DNA is checked, those damn killers belong to our tribe.

  But we are talking about planets that don't show up on the star maps. There is Veld. It is one of the oldest planets that we can trace in the development of this wing of the universe. It is developed by an amazingly intelligent civilization that traces back its history older than most. They fall in the list of good guys, sharing technology and loaning out special men once in a while—they are amazing. These single men have helped the Organization of Worlds, the Marines, and even scientists in unusual feats of accomplishments that are redacted. The rumors fly about the abilities of these particular warriors, but most say they can't possibly be true.

  In order to protect this single amazing world from the press of greedy people, that world has been kept a secret, and you won't find it on any star map. It was easy to keep it secret, as it didn't need to be erased—it had never been on any maps. It was in an unusual location. A lot of people do still hunt for it without results.

  There is also a secret group called The Dark Guardians. This unknown group does not seem to come from any particular world, but like the OOW, it is a secret organization of unknown trained personnel who might include some people from Veld and from the world of Gigas Vnee and other worlds that produce unusual warriors. There is no knowledge of where the organization meets or trains, and the world or location is hidden.

  On the opposite side, there was the cult that used surgery and meds to develop mental abilities. As their telepathy grew, they were able to envelope more of the people within the world that they hid on, and they grew to a large sect. Eventually, they ruled the world and were able to use the funds of the world called Vestum to continue their beliefs.

  Finally, through illegal and unrecognized medical processes, they were able to produce individuals that could read the minds of anyone that they came close in contact. They then could pass this ability on to their children if they reproduced with a like person.

  They became a problem when the Cult leaders decided to expand. They sent their special agents to another world, and that person slowly worked up through politicians to almost reach the President. It was the strange votes and actions noticed by both local members and families that tipped off the planet's legal staff.

  But then the legal departments were influenced, and someone reached out for help to the OOW. Tracing back the problem to the Cult planet of Vestum, a long court battle ensued, and then the Cult was shut down. Under strict control, the worst offenders were neutered, and a banned was placed on further medical alterations on mental abilities. An oversight power was put in place, and the planet was put on a restricted list.

  In other words, it was deleted from the star maps. You will not find Vestum on any maps, no matter how old the system. It isn't there.

  Okay, students, put your hands down. No, Vestum was not the only planet wiped from the maps' memories. I'm not sure how many more have been censored by the OOW, but I do remember hearing of another.

  This one also came about from the ability of one person being able to control another person. I know about this one because I had a student a few years ago who was writing a study on the planet Kaveah and couldn't find it on the star charts. He had found a couple references on old archives on two different planets.

  The abilities that developed to some of the people on this planet seemed to come naturally, like the tall people of Ono or the strong ones from Saw. It was felt it was a combination of several things, a natural talent and some unusual plants that were used as a euphoric. According to the records, the plants were rare and only native to the planet of Kaveah.

  Finding something unusual and rare on only one planet is not that unusual. For example, there is the planet of Gigas Vnee that we are all aware of, as it is one of the richest that stands alone in the worlds in the civilized universe. Gigas Vnee is the only place that grows or mines the so-called threads of targent that are used in all spaceships to allow for the ability to jump from one place in space to another instantly.

  Unfortunately for Kaveah, the small plant that gives some special abilities to rare individuals is of no use to anyone else off that planet. It has not made Kaveah rich in the manner of Gigas Vnee.

  So, I know the hands are going to go up to ask what
the plants do to the people on Kaveah. Well, it seems that when they were still primitive and in caves, they discovered a strange rite of finding mates. It didn't work for everyone, but in their beliefs that when it worked, it was sacred. A female would eat the plant and then taste the man of her choice. The males would run and hide in the forests.

  This has to do with dancing. Dancing is nothing new to primitive tribes, as most of us can look at our ancestors and find that at one time or another—the tradition to dance around the fires was passed down to what we do in bars today. But on Kaveah, it was different because all the ladies would dance. To the surprise of the tribes, some of the ladies seemed to send off a small sparkle, and suddenly a male would come out of the forest right up to her. He was walking as in a trance, to stand in front of her. It was called a Summons. And they were blessed and a special couple. I don't know what happened to the rest, but the tribes all grew, so nature must have taken over. Okay, enough of the silly chuckles.

  So, what we have here is what you can call one man's pleasure can turn into another man's weapon. In present times every person's DNA is everywhere. Think about it. The police could take the DNA of a criminal to a Dancer on Kaveah and let her taste it and dance. Then everyone would wait until the guy showed up. It would happen every time, no matter how far way the jerk was, he would pay, steal, or hide on ships to get to Kaveah to kiss the dancer. What a legal tool.

  But what if you were a crime lord and wanted to do away with another competitor. Force a dancer to take a taste and dance and wait to kill the guy when he stepped off the shuttle.

  Or another criminal or a political activist that wanted to change the ruler on a planet? Just get the dancer to taste the DNA of the present leader and wait and blow up his ship when it arrived.

  After many explosions and deaths and important people missing that were all tied into the planet Kaveah, OOW had to step in and make a decision. It was found that there were a few of the dancers that enjoyed the criminal aspect. Yet, it was discovered that most were either unaware or forced into the misdeeds.

  OOW took drastic action. First, they closed off the planet and put it on a restriction list. They took specific herbicides and made a strong effort to eliminate the euphoric plant on Kaveah. They also took the steps to prevent the dancers from passing their unusual genes on to the next generation. They provided birth control and did permanent physical barriers in females.

  At last, with the restriction list, they erased the position of Kaveah from most maps. It was not as clear because it was not as dangerous as the other planets.

  So, to finish this talk, which surprises me to see that none of you have fallen asleep, yes, there have been known existing planets that have been wiped from the present star maps. There are also planets that are occupied with important people that were never listed in the star maps.

  Now go and study. Yes, I hear the chuckles.

  Chapter One

  The satellite called Solitude in the language of old Galactic-Sol was a busy place for such a name. There was nothing quiet or lonely on this large busy trading subsidiary of the immense gas planet that it circled. It was in the company of the planet's many moons that had mining facilities that drew corporations and workers.

  Report: Asset is under control. I have her under surveillance and am replacing first Guardian. Details to follow.

  On the other hand, it was great to get lost among so many people and so many back alleys if you were hiding. The many twisted entrances to malls and long wide halls made for excellent cover. These wide halls were where one could peruse the open front of bars, hotels, shops, and restaurants. Anything that would interest the funds from the people that came off the trading freighters or passing ships that were getting fuel or repairs.

  Solitude was one of the largest artificial habitats in the universe, and it had grown carefully but oddly to keep its strange amount of gravity and atmosphere. Among the tall and broad and people of many colors, one thin young woman was just another worker, dressed in loose mismatched clothes, heading for work.

  Only about one-third of the people on this enormous floating metal container lived here all the time. They were the workers or owners of the many businesses that served the transients. Even for most workers, their term for staying on Solitude was often limited, as they soon moved on, finding work on the big freighters.

  Reporting for work, Moxxi moved behind all the glare of the fronts of the shops. She was heading for the service halls where the deliveries were made, and others like her were going into the back of businesses.

  At last, she reached the door where she was employed and picked up one of the small crates by the entrance to take in. She had to stop at the entrance to let the scanner recognize and log her in, and now she was on the pay period.

  Hardly taking a step, Moxxi was pushed by the next person rushing through the back door.

  "Sorry, Moxxi, I'm late." He was one of the young men who worked the front counters. They were hired for their looks and ability to sell someone anything. Anything small was available to be sold out of the large front store.

  Some distant corporation owned this store, along with many others. Moxxi wasn't sure where that corporation's headquarters was located and didn't care. She did know that the manager on this site was an asshole, but he paid on time. He also kept his hands to himself and yelled at everyone equally.

  Her job was handling the stockroom. The description was confusing when the manager first described it to her. But it involved several sets of rules that appealed to her. One that she did not go out front, and two she didn't work with customers.

  Beyond his mumbling and spitting, Moxxi soon figured out that the job required accepting and moving boxes and crates inside from the back alley or strange delivery people. Ask no questions, talk as little as possible with these people, take the packages.

  Once inside, unpack and sort and put things on storage shelves so that the people out front could grab them. The salespeople out front were responsible for keeping the front shelves stocked or arranged in a way to catch the eye and sell things. Odd things.

  There were items that Moxxi recognized, such as old clothes, small weapons, statues, and even wrist comms. On the other hand, there were items that Moxxi unpacked and could not put a name on or even found hard to describe. Sometimes the unusual items stayed behind in a special room and came out only on a nod from the manager.

  It was exactly the type of work that Moxxi was looking for, out of the sight of people and no questions asked. She set the box down on the low counter and went back to bring the other one outside the door. With this delivery inside, she now began to open the boxes, unpack the carefully wrapped items, and decide which shelf to store the items until they were needed.

  Both these boxes were full of carefully bundled glass dishes, glasses, and small statues with a couple of things she could not identify. It took her most of half her workday to put the stuff from the two boxes onto the correct shelves before she was left with the two glowing balls.

  Round glass balls were not that unusual. There was a whole group of shelves full of all colors and sizes. But these two glowed without any attachments or stands. The glow was different in each of the globes, with one a pale blue and the other a soft green.

  Looking at her hand, Moxxi realized that the green one was the same color. Moxxi's skin was a soft green all over her body. This was not unusual in this day and age, with cosmetics the trick of just swallowing a pill. Salons and shops in every world took care of women and men's desires when it came to the shape and color of their bodies.

  The hallways out in front were a kaleidoscope of humans in every color that the mind could imagine, with only a few walking around in natural shapes and tones. The difference with Moxxi was that the soft tone of her skin was natural and illegal. It was why she worked only in the backroom and kept her red hair in a tight braid. The braid was wrapped up around her head and hid under an old pull-on hat.

  She was careful to keep her
eyebrows plucked to have a clean nude forehead and always used dark makeup on her eyelashes. She did paint in dark lines for eyebrows, and this all served to accent her dark eyes. It was not her idea to draw attention since she was hiding, but she still got comments from those who got close enough to see her face under that stupid hat.

  Moving the globes, she was surprised that she became brighter every time she picked them up or ran a hand over them. Now it was time to call on the asshole that made the big decisions to find where he wanted to store these pretty glass balls.

  Moving over near the door to the front that she refused to go beyond, she waited to catch someone who could retrieve the manager. In a small way, she was in luck. The asshole came rushing through carrying a broken wooden piece in two hands. He almost knocked her down.

  "What the hell are you doing, standing around doing nothing?" He shoved the two pieces at her. "See if you can fix this."

  It wasn't asked nicely; it was an order.

  "Sure, boss, and I have some new odd things you need to see." Moxxi had learned early on the job not to be offended at the manager's actions or words. Still, her mouth would not stay shut. Watching the others, she had noticed that to comment back or argue only let the manager become incensed. It was as if the man was looking for a reason to tear into someone to let off steam. She had a mouth that worked on its own. Bad trouble.

  When Moxxi heard these words, she ignored them and just went on to her job or what they were talking about. It seemed to work, and the manager forgot his anger. The manager had a name. It was on his tag worn on his shirt. It was smaller than the word MANAGER in the upper case, and it was Bosk Met, but no one was foolish enough to address the manager by his name.

  Directing the manager over to the end of her work area, she drew off a rag from the two interesting globes. At first, they just sat there like round glass balls, but when the manager reached for one with a frown and saw it begin to glow, he smiled.