The Dancer's Summons

by M. Garnet

  By late on their shift, both were surprised when they were both called up to the Captain's table. Everyone knew nothing good came to be called to what was called the Captain's table. It was set up for only one purpose on any ship; whether the spaceship was military or private. It was a court to hand out decisions and punishments.

  Captain Headler was making a serious point, as he had set up the court in the damaged mess hall. Nothing had been cleaned up. Most of the damage had not been picked up or changed. There had been just enough items pushed aside to get a table to be put into position for the Captain to have a place behind. He had several of the top officers with him and a couple of men designated as ship guards. Over their ship suits, they had an armband that said Guard, and they wore small weapons on waistbands that could deliver stuns of different volts.

  These men did not come and get Traci and Mem. It was just the fact that a message had been sent through to the engine department's head to inform the two that their presence was needed immediately to the Captain's table. Since everyone knew where that table was located, both walked together to the mess hall, with Mem leading through the narrow hallways.

  Both were stopped at the double open doors of the mess hall by a guard. They both avoided each other but looked around the room. Traci decided that Mem was probably like her, looking for someone that looked like a friend among the mess and frowning officers.

  They were held at the door for at least twenty minutes, as officers had their backs to them, leaning over the table to talk to the Captain and others. During this time, the cook and his help brought out what Traci guessed was coffee in small table urns that they refreshed. They made a point not to interrupt anyone, as they replaced dirty cups and sat the hot urns in place.

  At last, the conversations seemed to be over, and everyone moved away to take places behind the table by several feet. At last, one of the officers nodded to the guards.

  "Go forward to the table but stop at the mark on the floor."

  Looking at the floor as they moved forward, Traci did see where someone had put a long piece of white tape on the floor about ten feet in front of the Captain's table. Both she and Mem were careful to stop with the toes of their shoes just inches from that tape.

  An open and lit pad was handed to the Captain.

  "So, we have base crew personnel Mem Bord and Traci Cen. I assume you both know why you are here." After that, there was silence. No one said anything for a bit, and Traci stood without moving, but she looked both ways with her eyes.

  At last, she felt she had to speak. "Sorry, sir, but I'm not sure why I'm here. I was working at the time of the problem that created this mess around us."

  "Me too." This came quickly from Mem. He looked over at her in his agreement.

  The Captain put the pad down very firmly. "Oh, we know you were not here at the time; a whole bunch of idiots lost their brains. They are going to be working long hours without pay to make up for their stupidity. But they all told us both of you were the reason that they felt they had to make this mess.

  Leaders of conflict should have to pay the worst penalty. That is the law."

  Now there was silence. Mem might be a hothead, but he wasn't an idiot. Traci wasn't about to make any comment to all of this either. What could be said to this accusation?

  "This is the decision of the Captain's court. You both will be put off at the next port with earned pay at that time and no bonus. You will not receive a recommendation. It will just be entered that you left at your own decision.

  For the rest of the time of this trip, you will work at your current position. Your pay will be docked one-third to pay for the guard in the same area to make sure there is no contact between you.

  If you disagree with any of this, you will be put in the brig and handed over to the law upon our next stop without pay. That will be all."

  The two followed a guard back down to the engine room to finish their shift with their heads down. Needless to say, the rest of the trip with another jump was very quiet. In the bunkroom, everything was different, with a lot of people missing. They were busy doing extra work, and when they did come into their beds, they were too tired to talk. It was to fall onto the thin mattress to fall asleep.

  There was the added problem that everyone was afraid to talk to either Traci or Mem. It was like they had a dangerous disease that no one wanted to catch. It was a quiet, hard-working crew that pulled into the next port.

  As Traci was escorted off the ship, after getting her last day's pay on her wrist, a guard walked her down the exit ramp. At the bottom, he stopped her.

  "Miss, this is a dangerous place. Try to get a place on a ship and get out of here as fast as possible." He said those words in almost a whisper and then turned to go back up into the ship. It seemed that no one was going to have shore leave at this location.

  Looking up and down the docking area at the other ships, she saw something of interest at one dock. The State Access was beginning to unload a large piece of equipment. She had no idea what it was, but that might be a lead for a job. Staying on a dangerous planet that didn't have many visitors might be just the place to hide.

  What Traci needed to do was find out exactly where she was located and what to expect. Going up to the nearest box office of a dock official, she waited to get the worker's attention. At last, he looked up.

  "Excuse me. I wonder if you could direct me to the nearest OOW office." Traci gave the man one of her wide-eyed looks.

  He stood there a moment, looking at her and then around as if there was something wrong. "Hmm, the closest OOW is on Parlow, and that is about two jumps away. You better hurry, or you will miss your ship."

  "What about the local law offices?" Traci pretended to be very nervous and moved from side to side.

  The guy leaned out to look down at her. "Sweetheart, unless you have a lot of real funds hidden in your pockets, I don't suggest you go to that office. It means real trouble. Look, if you are in trouble, go and see Big Query. Tell him Rud from the docks sent you. He is down on the planet near the first row of the cheap bars. He has a loan and trade shop. Be careful."

  Now Traci had a lead of someone to contact on this place. She took off and pulled out from her tote the black cape that she had never worn very much. She put it on and even pulled up the hood while she went through some exit tunnels that led to elevators to lower areas.

  There was plenty of room on the elevator when Traci found it since there weren't many going down to the planet. The signs said to check in at stations at Walker central city below. So now she understood the problem of where she was located. Walker was a planet for those in trouble on other worlds and joined up with large gangs out in the deep dark.

  The dark cape and hood made Tracie fit right in when she got off the elevator to walk along a street that was busy. It was full of mostly bars that were open even in the sunlight of daytime. Half the people she saw were also dressed to hide themselves behind hoods or capes and shadow mantles. The rest were dressed to make you want to look away, as they had weapons on them out in the open and were covered in scars. Some looked like their ragged miss-matched clothes could use a good cleaning.

  The planet probably had an official star chart name at one time before it became known as Walker. Walker was meant now for the constant movement of off and on of the people that seldom stayed. They came here to meet for nefarious reasons, both leaders of large crime organizations down to the small worms who were looking to find a crumb to grab. It was full of wealthy and starving individuals who all came for different reasons but had the same thing at heart, accessible funds.

  Around the transient villainy that walked on and off the world constantly were those who were trapped on it to make their living in other ways. They served up anything that would earn a coin from those who came for meetings, supplying food, fun, and sex in any form one could imagine. The problem was that there were no restrictions, and one had to be careful of what was for sale.

  One also had
to be careful not to end up being for sale themselves, as even moving through the streets was dangerous. Now Traci was alone on this strange planet.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The loan and trade shop was easy to find, as it had a large flashing sign that was floating out in the street like all the bars in this area. The signs were the floating screens that you had to either ignore and walkthrough, or duck under the harmless glow, as they were holos.

  This area was full of drunks and pushing people in all types of strange clothes. The noise level was loud, with people shouting and music blasting. Traci wrapped her black cloak around her tightly to prevent pickpockets.

  To her surprise, the pushes and bumps did not seem to be sexual. They were just too many people in a crowded space, all hurrying to get somewhere fast, with some of the mass being drunk.

  Suddenly, someone bumped into her so hard it knocked her several steps to keep her on her feet. He was still with her, one arm over her shoulder, his head hanging on the other. She could hear him gasping.

  "I am hurt. I will pay you anything if you get me into the trade shop. They will kill me." His voice was harsh but sounded young. She looked over her open shoulder and just saw a bunch of jostling drunks. But back in the crowd, there was a different mix, as if something or someone was propelling everyone out of the way.

  This was not something she needed, to be in the middle of someone else's problems. On the other hand, she knew there were times when she had been helped. She shifted her weight and had an arm around the young man who was limping.

  "Oh, sweetheart, I'm glad you caught up with me. Let's get inside and away from this crowd so I can give you a big kiss." A couple laughed, and someone made a bit of room so that they could move over towards the side. It was easier to slide along and push the people in front who also were going into doorways at the walls.

  "The trade shop." He was limping on the leg closest to her, and that was good since he could lean on her without seeming too obvious. Their problem was that some people came out of the next shop, and that slowed them down. She could hear the protests behind them from whoever was acting like a huge cleaning machine.

  At this time, with the young man's mouth so close to her ear, she could hear him moan when he used that injured leg. She couldn't make the error to glance down, as she was afraid she would lose him and he would fall to the floor. There would be no way to get him up, and he might even get hurt worse when drunks tripped over him.

  Getting desperate, Traci began to push the people ahead of her and laughing out loud. She didn't look at the ones she was pushing; she moved her head to look at the one tilted on her head. She licked the ear and laughed again loudly, as finally, the group in front moved out into the crowd, seeking somewhere else. At last, someone behind her began arguing, probably with who was trying to get to the youth Traci was dragging; she reached the open doors of the trade shop.

  Big Query's Loans and Trades was the solid sign over the open double doors. Traci pulled her load inside to move over against the inside wall out of sight. Perhaps if the trackers followed them in, they would not see them for a few moments in the shadow of the door that was back against the inside wall.

  A robot waiter moved up, and Traci frowned, wondering how to get rid of the helpful machine. It was drawing attention that she did not need.

  "Trading, selling, or buying." The machine said in a pleasant voice. Someone had programmed it to speak in a charming way to customers.

  The youth raised his head. "Dono piton rej."

  Whatever he said, Traci didn't understand, but the robot stretched out long, wide hands. The youth just let go of Traci and fell against the machine, and they began to move away. The robot was carrying the young man. Traci looked around, but whoever was chasing him didn't come into the store, and no one else paid any attention. Shrugging, Traci just followed the robot and the guy she had helped. She didn't want to stay out in front with possible trouble outside.

  There was another reason. This was the place that the guy called Rud up in the dock area had said to go for possible work or help. All she could do was pray that she had helped the right person to interest Big Query. This could all go wrong if she had brought into the trade shop an enemy of the Big owner.

  The shop was too big and too interesting to take in, as Traci walked fast behind the robot. She saw aisles full of glass statues followed by long rows of weapons. On the other side were large items standing upright that she couldn't even name. The room was immense and bright, with no shadows anywhere.

  Even as fast as the robot was moving, it seemed to take them longer to get through the store than it did for Traci to even get here from the spaceship docks. She hoped the youth she had helped did not bleed out, as he was being carried through the main wide corridor. What she saw now were small drops of blood following him. Once, as she glanced back, greedy little cleaning bots were wiping the spots immediately from the floor.

  Being careful not to step on any of the blood, she stayed as close to the robot as she could, hoping it would lead to the same place she wanted. At last, the robot turned down into an open hall that had several open doors with several people coming out. One was a woman who stopped the robot.

  "Der veila av rol." She spoke to the robot that stopped and allowed her to look at the youth's leg.

  "What the hell happened?"

  "Getta, they were waiting. I went in with a couple of others, and we had it all worked out, but it was a trap." The youth was speaking in a low voice. "Oh Getta, this gal helped me. Take care of her."

  The woman looked over at Traci and nodded. Then in that strange language, she said something to the robot, and it took the young man into one of the rooms. Traci started to follow, but the woman held up a hand.

  "We need to introduce you to the boss. He'll want to thank you."

  Looking around, Traci nodded. "Actually, a friend sent me here to meet Big Query."

  "No problem. That is just the ticket. Come on, and we will solve both problems." The woman led her down the hall to the only closed door.

  After opening the door, the woman stepped back to indicate that Traci should enter. "He's expecting you."

  With a smile and holding her head up, Traci entered the room. It was not very large, and the only light came from all the screens on all the walls. There were so many that the room was lit by the blue-white light with enough for her to see everything in the space. But her eyes were on the displays. What was available was all that one wanted to see around this sector. Some terminals showed the large store inside the many aisles that had people moving and picking up items.

  There were displays of the doorway and the wide walkway beyond the store that was so crowded outside. Following that screen, she could see some monitors that showed that wide street in both directions. Traci took a couple of steps into the room, her eyes fascinated by the views to find the screens that went back, one after another, to where she had exited from the elevator. From there were others that even presented the long dim docks of the landing sites of many spaceships. Finally, some screens showed the planet.

  This whole room was a spy hole on the world around it and was a place of watching, of viewing what was happening.

  "I saw you on one of the screens save my son."

  Turning at the voice, a man was sitting behind a large, amazing desk. The desk was nothing but a conglomerate of buttons and keyboards, and control panels. He couldn't be the man in charge of a crime gang on this dangerous world or who lived up to the name of the store. He was just average. He looked like a man that would keep the accounts for a big business on a safe world full of large companies. As he stood in the oddly lit room, she could see that he was about her height, five foot eight or nine. She was tall and thin but muscular in the right places. He was average for a man and thin.

  He looked to be in middle age, but that was hard to guess in this day and age with life extensions and mods being done all of the time. She had run into grandmothers who looked younger tha
n her.

  "I am glad I could help. He seemed to be hurt. I hope you have medics close to taking care of him." She looked up at the bright walls again. "It was pure luck, as I was coming here anyway."

  "Oh, good. That means I can help you and pay you back at the same time. Name your choice." He moved around the desk slowly, and she thought it was meant not to frighten her. He was trying to put her at ease. She decided he would not be a match for her, but she would place a bet that there was a quick alarm close by that would call some more prominent people with muscles and weapons.

  Taking a couple of steps toward him, she decided it was safe if she had saved his son. There was no other furniture in this unusual room, so this man didn't expect company. He had no chairs for guests or cabinets for items.

  "I had a guy called Rud at the docks send me here to ask for Big Query."

  The man moved back around to sit down behind the desk. "Rud, you say. Hmm, one of the few honest men on this planet, well, you are here. I am Big Query."

  Standing still and just looking at the thin man, as he sat in the reflections of all of the electronics, she had to wonder if he was trying to fool her.

  At last, he made a slight chuckle. "Yea, the name has you fooled. It has nothing to do with size. It has to do with power. I run this section of the planet. Rud sent you to me as a recommendation for some small safe job in one of my many businesses. But that has changed."

  "Okay, sorry. I guess you want me to leave." Speaking, Traci took a step back, hoping the door would open.

  "Hey, don't worry. What I mean is that you have done me a more important favor. You saved my son. I do owe you a special favor, and I mean it when I say ask for what you want. I will see that you get it." He looked up at the screens and waved a hand.

  "What do you need, a good private cabin on a ship leaving for a great world? How about a large amount of funds dropped into your ID? Do you need a physical make-over? We have some of the best right here." Now he was sitting back in his office chair and had his hands on the arms.