“You have a deal Knox, after an inspection of these turrets that you say are so good.”
They made arrangements to meet and make the exchange. Marty would dump two more Maxmillion turrets, which tended to feed back and blow up with extended use. At the same time he would gain freedom for nearly forty people which he hoped could be sent on to Edahni, Durk would mount the turrets and go hunting more prey.
It would take Panther less time to get to the Cyrillium home world than it would take the rescued settlers to reach Edahni. And it would take some time for Marty Knox's message to reach Zak. The Cyrillium had the best comms network in the galaxy but it still took days to relay messages from one end to another. Panther had not been back to the Cyrillium home world for over three years so it was a special event for the families and extended families of crew members. Zak was not looking forward to seeing his mother, a high council member. His father had lost interest in him when he was a child because he showed no interest in business and had not contacted him for ten years. His mother kept contact because it was part of the ongoing mission of Panther. Zak's only personal feelings were for MayBell At Colisus Two station and even that was conflicted with Junes on board. Junes bothered him quite a bit, especially since she had authority over him. He called it love hate and did not have a clue as how to deal with it. For now he would put up with this visit for the sake of the crew who were more like a family than crew. One thing that was positive was Gina, who turned out to be a competent engineer and more importantly, well traveled and savvy. He had been learning the basics of Moog language from her as well as a lot more about their culture. Gina was the only other one who knew what was really going on on Edahni and knew the need for total discretion. The next stop for Panther would be the second Moog boundary station. An assay of the Azurite sample would determine the future of the Edahni colony. Azurite, which made anti-mater power possible was one of the rarest minerals in the sixty two known worlds. Because of it's incredible value there were those who would kill for it and the Edahni colony was vulnerable.
“You have no business with the Moog so stay away from their territory. We are having troubles with them right now and do not need outside influences.”
Zak's mother stated this quite clearly as a member of the high council. As shocked as Zak was he had to wonder what kind of problems they could be having with the Moog unless they had tried to violate their space.
“Ah, well, that may not be so simple since one of my crew is Moog.”
This was not exactly true but Gina was at least part Moog according to her accounts.
“Why has the council not heard of this before.”
“I never thought my crew was of any business or concern of the high council but I suppose since you pushed Junes on me you want to know every detail. I protect may crew's privacy as much as possible and, I will report what I report, that should be good enough. Silence prevailed for more than a minute before she responded to Zak's statement.
“You have always been difficult just like your father and it keeps getting you in trouble. I can not stop you but I can register a complaint with the high council, which I will. They may decide to hold you here as this business with the Moog is serious. I know you, do not do anything stupid or you will lose Panther for good. Junes is the only reason you are still captain.”
Zak fired back.
“I understand about Junes but do not pretend to understand why we are going to see the Moog. My business with them has nothing to do with the Cyrillium people at all and you will just have to trust me on that.”
They parted ways leaving much left unsaid as always. They were more like business associates than mother and son. Zak was to call the crew back right away and leave but that would be unfair to them since some had not seen family in a long, long time.
-7-
They had time so he would wait and try to enjoy a few days himself and then, he walked into the fore galley and there was Junes.
“So now would be a good time to explain what is going on with the Edahni colony.”
“Not sure what more there is to say, we just bring in food and supplies for them.”
“And you expect me to ignore the sealed crate in the aft landing bay and the fact that the drilling equipment you have brought them is for delicate extraction. Now you want to contact the Moog and the Moog are major suppliers of refined Azurite. This is what you would tell Gina but not your mother or anyone else.”
This meant that Junes had spoken to Gina and found out about the contracts as it was common knowledge among the crew that Gina spoke Moog.
“Listen Zak, this goes no further that us in this room unless you lie to me and I have always know when you are lying.”
“Okay, we are taking a sample to be tested and proved, this fulfills the contract the colony has with a Moog company. Obviously no one needs to know about this, ever. The Edahni colony has no defense and there are too many that might take advantage, including Federated. Even the crew does not know what is going on and this protects them as well.”
“For once what you say makes sense so why don't you try and get some recreation in the next couple of days. I will stay on Panther and oversee restock and repairs. One more thing, I always knew you had a big heart, just try and temper it a bit.”
Once again she had presented this as more of an order than conversation.
“Very well, please check in with Uhr and Dihr while I'm gone will you.”
This was also given more as an order than suggestion. Call it a parting shot as he left the galley, this, Junes did not care for. Junes enjoyed a few quiet days aboard with just Uhr and Dihr who were able to get her up to speed on Zak's longer term plans for Panther. A lot depended on Edahni.
“It seems Federated has been sniffing around and Hallbrook smells money. If there is something valuable on Edahni there is no doubt Federated will take over as they have started to in other places. The colony has no defense so for now we have just been delivering people, parts and foodstuffs. Zak will surely want to take a more active roll if things escalate.”
Uhr put it quite clearly and Junes responded.
“That cannot be allowed to happen. You just barely survived Gog and Magog, by all reports Federated is worse. It should not be to much longer and the picture will become clearer, no sense getting ahead of ourselves.”
The crew came back aboard and Panther made way for Moog territory.
A Cyrillium military corvette was following, they did not know that Panther's scans reached further than theirs. Zak was not happy about the tail and was coming up with no good answers. Reluctantly, he called Junes to the bridge.
“Your friends are on our tail, any suggestions on how to get rid of them.”
“Did you try hailing then and telling them to back of.”
That was so simple that he almost took it as a joke but, knowing Junes, it was not. Before long he had the tail's captain on screen.
“This is captain Rolf of the Cyrillium forces, you are on a restricted command frequency and how you found it I do not want to know. Why are you hailing and how did you spot us.”
“You are well within our scanning range and we wish you to quit following. Regardless of your orders we have a meeting with the Moog and any military following could be construed in a negative way. So go home, tell them you lost us.”
“Very well, we'll back of and report this to command. No one is supposed to have better scanning capabilities than the Cyrillium forces. This too will be reported. Captain Rolf, out.”
Zak looked back at Junes and shrugged his shoulders. The corvette slowly dropped back until it was out of scanner range. Hart had set a course to Moog Station One despite their destination of Station Two. Zak had anticipated the Cyrillium would try and follow and just by how easily the corvette backed off he knew another would show up at some point.
“Hart, when do you think we should change course.”
“We need to keep course and speed for another twelve hours. Then, depe
nding on scans we can change course and go to full speed.”
“Sounds good so if nothing comes up I will be in my quarters. Junes, you have the con.”
June was concerned about Zak who generally spent most of his time on the bridge. Since she came on board he had tried to avoid the bridge as much as possible. As Junes sat in the captains chair she wondered what was on Zak's mind knowing that their differences were only a small part of it. At just over twelve hours a ship appeared on long range scans and Junes, still in the captains seat, prepared for course change. Another Cyrillium corvette was confirmed as their new shadow. As soon as the the shadow spotted Panther they changed course and speed to match, staying at extreme sensor range. Panther could easily outdistance the corvette with it's more powerful engines so it was just a mater of time before they parted ways. Aboard the Cyrillium corvette.
“Right on time and location captain and we are at the very longest scanner range. They should not see us.”
“Are you sure, after all our other ship thought the same thing.”
“I changed our scan configurations which boosted rage considerably. I am quite confident captain.”
'Very well ensign, let's just maintain a watch and notify me if anything changes.”
And so they waited just as the crew of Panther waited for just over an hour.
“This is Junes, prepare for change to max speed on my mark.”
On Panther going to max speed meant the dampers could not keep up for a short time and would slam everyone on board quite hard. Anyone not secured could get hurt and sometimes did from the force. It would take Panther no time at all to pull out of range of their shadow. Normally a Cyrillium shadow would not be a problem so long as they kept their distance but this time they had to leave them behind.
“Mark.”
On the shadow ship the hour had made the crew complacent.
“Whoa, the ship just disappeared, Panther is just gone, that can't be.”
“Calm down ensign, she just changed speed. Trying to outrun us I expect, full burn now and stay on course. Try watching those sensors a little closer from now on.”
A Cyrillium corvette could, in theory, match Panther's speed but it would be brutal at nearly ten gee over dampers and against regulations.. Even so it was to be of no avail, too much time had passed, Panther was gone. They would have a tough time explaining how a century old containership had given them the slip. After reporting, the corvette was given orders to maintain course and speed till they reached Moog Station One. Panther, on the other hand was now on course for Moog Station Two at it's full burn. The Moog stations were all a long ways from the planets alone the border with Cyrillium space. Station Two was not a transfer point just more of a science outpost and relay point. It was safe to assume that Panther would be left alone to complete it's journey to the station. On the Moog Station Two they had witnessed the last maneuver thanks to the small scanning relays that dotted the border. These buoy's were too small for detection by most ships systems yet extended the Moog sensor array by a factor of ten.
“Panther has slipped it's handlers once again but keep close watch just the same. We do not another incident with the Cyrillium.”
This from the commander of Station Two. The other incident, which had the Cyrillium high council and others involved a Cyrillium freighter that strayed into Moog space and disappeared. Every so many years someone thought they could venture into Moog space and establish trade directly but passing Moog boundary stations was not to be done. It was the extensive array of buoys that caught everything entering their space. The stations second replied.
“Lets hope the Cyrillium fleet leaves Panther alone now, although Zak and crew would never give up a confidence, even under duress.”
“Yes there is that and we will find out soon enough if this has been worth the effort or just another fail.”
The Moog were big suppliers of finished and tested Azurite, selling exclusively to the Cyrillium who sold it to other worlds for a huge profit. This also kept the Cyrillium in a dominant position in the galaxy. Anti-mater was power and things like space travel did not happen without Azurite.
Gina was nervous as she looked in the mirror, the new med bed had done wonders for the radiation burns on her face and body. It had been a long time she had dared to look in the mirror. Zak and the crew had been good to her since coming on board, now she would really be able to earn her keep. The meeting with the Moog would be the first visit to her mother's world but more importantly, her command of the language added leverage to the huge deal pending. What made her nervous was that the fate of an entire planet lay in the balance. First they would assay the Azurite and then cut and test it for purity. In a few hours they would be at Moog Station Two and it would begin. Station Two was little known and did no outside business being more of a science and research facility. On the bridge of Panther a hail came in from the station.
“Attention Panther, you are clear for approach. A docking assignment will be transmitted shortly. If we find any other ships in the area we will give you a vector to follow.”
This hail was given in Moog. While the hail was translated by the computer on Panther, Zak replied in Moog.
“We look forward to meeting with you, Captain Jahns, out.”
Gina had just stepped onto the bridge during the exchange and said.
“Captain, your language is improving but still needs lots of work.”
There were a few chuckles around the bridge at Gina's statement but Zak just shrugged his shoulders. The Moog language was hard to learn as it was so much different than Commons or Cyrillium. For Gina it was easy as she grew up with it and instead had a real hard time learning Cyrillium. Gina had easily picked up hegmon along the way as well as an intense engineering education compliments of Uhr and Dihr. Everything was quiet as they approached the station that was shaped a cube so dark it was almost lost among the stars. The bay they landed in was spacious and had air and gravity. It was a treat to be able to walk off the ship without a suit and stumbling through a docking tube. Junes would remain on the bridge while Zak and Gina along with the case on a gravity lift, left to meet their hosts. Two people were waiting.
“Welcome to our station, let us get your samples to our lab and then we will have some refreshment while we wait.”
It did not take long to reach the floor with the labs and Gina asked if they would record the process so they could review it later. The was delivered in perfect Moog, slightly accented. This impressed their hosts immensely and he said so. For Zak things were a bit awkward as the ceilings were barely above his head and he had to duck through the doors. While Gina was not much taller then their host Zak towered over them all. He had realized that this station was not built to accommodate outsiders unlike the other Moog stations he had visited. This was intimidating to Zak as they sat in a lounge that was sized for Moog. Their host Tarn turned to them.
“Captain relax, this process will take some time, just enjoy for now. And you, Gina are part Moog of that there is no doubt. It is very rare to see outside of our territory so what is your story.”
This was not pleasant thing as she explained her background.
“Your parents were not kind to you but as a member of Panther's crew things can only get better over time. You are an asset to your crew in more ways than you know. Please enjoy the cider, it is not available anywhere else.”
Zak had already sampled the delicious beverage that had a distinct alcohol content. He watched as Gina took a big swallow without even flinching. Zak an eyebrow as Tarn just smiled. Zak had no idea, Gina knew how to drink.
“With your permission captain, I will send a couple of cases to your crew.”
“Certainly, I will comm them to let them know of your generous gift. Of course, some will not be able to partake as they are on duty.”
Over the course of time a few more people came in and introduced themselves while sitting for a drink. It was Gina that carried on most of the conversation while th
ey waited. Zak was quietly getting a little light headed while the cider did not seem to affect Gina at all. It was clear that the Moog were doing everything they could to make this deal go their way but Gina had thrown them for a loop. As small talk dragged the last visitor made a blatant pass at Gina, she ignored it, the results were in. A scientist came in and sat and sipped while going over the results. Afterward Tarn spoke.
“The samples you have brought are of outstanding quality so now, we negotiate.”
Zak was having trouble keeping up with the numbers and after a time Gina spoke up.
“Listen, this is a long term high quality source that can be delivered on a regular basis but what you offer is low compared to what you are selling it to the Cyrillium for. Surely you can do much better or perhaps, or perhaps we can suggest to our client to set up process and sell direct. Of course that would be bad for you.”
Partly this was a bluff as setting up processing would be quite costly. Tarn spoke.
“Zak, your Gina bargains like a seasoned Moog and we will concede that we do want your business so here is what we can offer.”
It would take more than an hour to complete the transaction and then wait for the documents to be printed up to be signed. For the colony on Edahni this was a secure future for a long time so long as they could hold the planet. Since no one knew of the Azurite no one other than Federated should cause them any problems. Once the papers were completed Tarn invited Panther's crew for a meal of real fresh foods, Zak approved. While not quite like being on a planet the Moog station hall was spacious, with a tall ceiling and a large number of live plants. Since they had virtually no outside visitors they pulled out all the stops for Panther's crew. As much as Gina enjoyed the fresh food she cut it short and headed back to Panther bringing back fresh food for Junes, Dihr and Uhr. Dihr and Uhr had held back because they did not want to cause disruption of the festivities. Many humans react poorly to grax and it was feared the the Moog might also. Gina sat on the bridge and relayed the success they had.
Zak Jahns Page 7
