by Marc Stevens
“This is a Sig-flagged military transport and the smallest in its class. It is a dated design but has several recent upgrades. It has good quality shields and weapons. This class is moderately fast, and oh by the way, did I mention it was Sig-flagged? No one in their right mind screws with the Sig. I will sell it to you for a little over cost and lease a training crew of five for twenty-five billion credits.”
I had no idea if it was a good deal or not. I looked at my crewmates and they all had blank stares on their faces. I guess Tam Lin took my indecision as haggling instead of lack of knowledge.
“Sheesh! I’ll throw in a new paint job as well, but you’re not getting anything else out of me! I can’t just give this scat away for free.”
I didn’t know what else to do but hold out my hand. We shook on it and she poked at the floating display a little more. “It will be ready in ten work periods and I will make sure your Zaen friends get new permanent ID chips. Is there anything else you need while you are here?”
I pointed across the table at Klutch, Coonts and Xul. “How much to give these three and thirty-seven of my Grawl scientists new IDs?”
“Holy shit Nathan, you are talking some serious credits. To begin with, it is a highly illegal surgical procedure pulling original ID chips from people’s brains. It is slightly risky, but we have not had anyone die in several years. We have had a one hundred percent success rate on the slaves that had chips. We have developed a way for the neuro tentacles to reattach to the originals within seconds without any serious side effects. That is the least expensive part of the procedure. It is greasing all of the crooked palms it takes to get the new information into the Galactic database. That costs a fortune!”
I just shrugged because I really didn’t care how much it cost. At some point in the future, I would take the Chaalt council’s hundred billion and this expenditure would be a wash. Coonts, Klutch and Xul were giving me an affirmative — they were happy about getting a clean slate. I looked at Tria questioningly and she shook her head a definite no.
“How much?”
“A hundred million a head is the going rate — that is why it rarely happens. Very few can afford it and it keeps demand for the procedure low. The price is set so I can afford to do the slaves for free.”
“How long does the surgery take?”
“The surgery only takes minutes, getting the information into the database takes a couple of weeks. I have enough chips to do these three, but because of the large number of slaves you recently freed, it will take me a little while to get my hands on enough virgin chips to do your staff.”
I had a pocket full of vouchers because I never left home without them. I passed them to her and she made the withdrawal.
“Bring the scientists in a week and we will be ready by then.”
Pasta led Coonts, Klutch and Xul to Tam Lin’s private elevator. Tria and I waited with Tam Lin and made small talk. “So, Sushi tells me you had a solid lead on Eiger, how did that turn out?”
“Not well. Eiger was not there. We did however recover the two Zaens I brought to you. They were kidnapped by Tibor pirates and held for ransom.”
“Hah! Knowing you, I bet that worked out well for them.”
“They got what was coming to them.”
“Sushi said the little side trip was well worth the time. Whoever was running the outpost was pissing their pants when he showed up with three platoons asking to buy liquor. He scored enough Pluga to last their new outpost a year. The pirates sold it for half of what we normally pay. They must have really wanted Sushi’s crew of ass kickers off the outpost pretty bad to sell at those prices.”
“Have you heard anything on Eiger’s whereabouts?”
“Not really. What I have is dated and still states he is holed up on one of the Murlak home worlds.”
The slippery Throgg would continue breathing for now, but one day soon I was going to fix that. I started thinking about what arrangement I needed to make with the Zaens to get some small return on my investment. They were at the very least going to haul any freight and supplies we may need for an indefinite length of time. I might as well get that set up right now.
“We are going to need supplies on a regular basis. I will take enough for our immediate needs, but when the Zaen’s freighter is ready, inform them of their new duties. Before we leave, please make sure Justice has all the necessary access codes for our new acquisition.”
Tam Lin smiled and gave me a nod. She was making credits off us left and right. At this rate, our supply was finite and we would have to go pick on the Scrun and Murlaks to make sure we didn’t run short. Pasta escorted my crewmembers from the elevator. Each had a small patch at the base of their skulls but was looking no worse for wear and tear.
Tam Lin walked over to them. “You are now unknowns. Any previous security clearances you may have held are now null and void. Any reputation you might have enjoyed, good or bad, is forfeit. You are now strangers to your past and can only build on your future. Your names never mattered, but your ID numbers did. I know I don’t have to say this, but you are going to hear it anyway. There is no such thing as getting a new personal ID chip, and you damn sure didn’t get one here!”
We shot the breeze while I our supplies were being loaded. When Pasta and Klutch had everything secured we said our goodbyes and boarded our shuttle for the return trip to the Legacy. When we were well clear of the outpost, Justice came alongside and pulled us into the hangar bay with the tow beam.
“Justice, take us to Alpha Base so we can restock our missile magazine and unload supplies.”
“Affirmative, Commander. I have been deep charging the matrix while you were on the outpost and we can make a DEHD core transition on your order.”
“Take us home, Justice.”
We were still walking to the lift tube that would take us to the bridge level when everything went dead still and glowed a bright white. When we returned to normal spacetime, Justice reported his subsystems had no unusual activity to report, so we made a straight-in approach for landing. The first thing we noticed after landing was a large new building structure where our replicator was once located. Several of our Grawl engineers were busy using gravity jacks to set building panels in place on an adjoining building that was yet to be completed. Felix came to meet us and was overjoyed that we had rescued his clan members. He pointed at the new buildings and was beaming as he explained what they had accomplished in our absence.
“Nathan Myers, the fabricator building and my personal quarters are now complete. I am currently manufacturing the final forty-one panels that will finish the warehouse structure.”
The rest of my scientists and engineers stopped what they were doing and started congregating around us. They held out their hands and I smiled as I walked around and touched each. My crew did the same and I once again stood in front of young Felix. He held his hand out to me and I touched it. A small cheer went out from the Grawl. Every face I made eye contact with looked genuinely happy. I only knew a little about their past lives, and it had nothing to do with being happy. My next announcement should really get them going. I held up my hands and they quieted.
“I have made certain arrangements that can never be divulged to anyone outside of this base. As with everything else here, you are sworn to secrecy. I repeat, you must NEVER speak of what I am about to tell you.”
I had everyone’s attention. They stood wide eyed and wondering what I was about to tell them. “It is now possible to wipe your past lives from the Galactic records.”
This got me several small frowns and looks of uncertainty. Jaran came forward. “Nathan Myers, that is not possible without removing our ID chips. To do such a thing would leave many permanently brain damaged and unable to function normally.”
Coonts and Xul stepped forward. Coonts turned Xul around so the crowd could see the small bandage at the base of his skull. “As you can see, Xul and I have suffered no ill effects. We now have new chips and no record of our past. No
one will be able to track us through our old identities. We can now travel freely without the threat of someone finding out who we really are.”
Man, oh man, that got them stirred up. The excited murmur that went through the crowd was getting louder by the second. I held my hands up again and they quieted. “Any who wish to have a new identity and be able to safely make excursions to outposts on our new freighter, raise your hands!”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud. As one, they raised both of their hands as if they were surrendering to me.
Young Felix turned to me. “We have a freighter?”
“Yes, I now own a Sig-flagged freighter that Broza and Hylet will be permanently in charge of. Their ship was destroyed when we rescued them and it will be the replacement. As long as they give our needs priority, they will be free to use it for their normal commerce. They will be making the journey to a rendezvous point where we will meet them on a regular basis. The Grawl will join them on their first excursion and will get new identities. Once that is done they will be able to travel freely and spend their new wealth as they please.”
Turning to the Grawl, I addressed the crowd once more. “I hope that you will all decide to return and help me continue my mission to help others.”
The cheer that went out was deafening, then it settled to excited talk and quieted once more. They were looking at me kind of funny.
“Is there a problem?”
The Grawl looked to Graf and he stepped forward. “Nathan Myers, why would we not return to our home?”
That put a smile on my face you couldn’t slap off. “I just meant that you now have freedom of choice. You can have a normal life and go wherever the freighter might take you.”
“Nathan Myers, this is our home and it is where we wish to live out our lives. We have purpose now because we do not work for the wealth of a corrupt few — we work for the good of all.”
There was no arguing with that, and I told them to carry on with what they were doing before I interrupted. I saw that Justice took it upon himself to operate the automated overhead cranes to get the missiles on board the Legacy. Klutch, Coonts and Xul departed to help with the cargo. Tria took my hand and pulled me in the direction of the artifact building. I looked over my shoulder seeing that everyone was busy, then gave her an arched eyebrow. She just smiled rolled her eyes and shook her head. We stopped in front of the big atmospheric hatch and she called to Justice to open up. The doors parted and sitting just inside were the five Daggers. The flush fitting cockpit doors were folded to the side, beckoning us to come look inside. I peeked over the edge and saw everything had been stripped out and a track lock system installed into the opening. Tria waved me over to four large tub-like modules sitting behind each Dagger. They reminded me of the reinforced drivers compartments of rail-style dragsters I used to watch on TV when I was young.
Tria walked around two of them then stepped up on the small scaffold next to the third one in line. She threw her leg over the edge and climbed in. I stepped up on the scaffolding and watched as she sat back into the protective enclosure. It fit her like a glove. She placed her arms on the four rests designed just for her and holographic displays came to life right in front of her. I was going to lean forward for a closer look but folding doors popped up out of the edges of the module and closed like the sections of our Chaalt battle helmets.
“HA HA, Justice, very funny. Now let her out of there.”
“The Grawl scientists and engineers were adamant we should have redundant safety measures in place to protect command personnel. This design was adopted to ensure survivability in the event the Dagger’s phase shielding were to become inoperable during combat situations. The control module can sustain life for up to fourteen Earth days. There is a supply of water and emergency rations in a compartment under the seat. If need be, the module can be ejected and is able to make limited maneuvers with its gravity thrusters. It can re-enter into atmospheres as well but will be irreparably damaged if that option is exercised.”
The closure retracted and I was startled to see Tria holding her Chaalt combat rifle. The god of war was covering all the bases. If we took off in the Daggers and somehow found our asses buried in Throggs, we could always shoot our way out.
“I took the liberty of preparing for all contingencies. There is a Tibor pistol secured in the cockpit as well as two Chaalt homing grenades. The seat pads can expand or contract to fit both of your current armor types.”
Tria secured the rifle back in its rack and pulled herself up out of the module. “Justice, when can we test fly them?”
“Tria, November One and Tango Two are the closest to completion and approximately eight work cycles from flight testing. Charlie Three and Kilo Four are still more than twenty work cycles away from the module fitting process and subsystem integration. X-Ray Five is being held for reserve status.”
“Justice while we are here and I am thinking about it, I want at least twenty of our nanite missiles in our loadout.”
“Affirmative, Commander. I would like to fill the reservoirs on your battle armor with weaponized nanites now that the suits have been combat-tested. I have completed several program sequences that should cover most combat nanite dispersion scenarios. I have taken the liberty of introducing the DNA of you and all personnel in this complex into the stop code algorithms programmed into the nanites. Using Tria’s DNA, I have also eliminated any chance of Chaalt personnel being mistakenly attacked.”
“Thank you, Justice, I know I am capable of being extremely careless in combat. Keep me posted and give everyone a heads up when we are ready to depart. We will be going to investigate our latest transponder find.”
“Roger that, Commander!”
I took Tria by the hand and we exited the artifact building, closing the large access door behind us. One the Grawl engineers was on an intercept course, so we stopped to see what he was up to.
“Nathan Myers, the second Coram shuttle should be complete in another two work cycles. We have removed all useable equipment and ordinance from the damaged shuttle. We have been ordered by Felix to cut up the remains. We know he is in charge of the replicator but many of us are hesitant to take orders from him. I thought it best to consult with you before we follow…his request.”
“Did Felix say why he wanted to cut it up?”
“No, he said to cut it up and transport everything to the replicator facility.”
“Thank you for alerting me. Hold off on the demolition until I find out what he is up to.”
I moved off with Tria in tow toward the replicator building. I wasn’t sure how I felt about young Felix giving orders any more than the Grawl did. As we entered the building, I was surprised to see one of our Chaalt-manufactured stealth missiles disassembled on a large bench. I was even more surprised to see the anti-matter warhead sitting on a cart next to it.
“Felix! What are you doing?”
The young Zaen jumped at my exclamation. “Mr. Myers, it should be obvious I am proofing the replicator settings in preparation of manufacturing our first stealth missile. The Grawl engineers have yet to bring the salvage from the wrecked shuttle. I require it for the casings.”
“Where did you get the spec sheets and processing plans?”
The Zaen walked over to a long crate. “While inventorying the shipping crates that were left by the Chaalt, we came across this unmarked crate. When I opened it, I found this missile and a strange cryptic message along with the manufacturing specifications.”
“Show me the message.”
Felix rooted through the mess on his desk and gave me the message.
If a simple-minded primate were to somehow find these sensitive documents, he should ignore the contents and go back to stacking his scat.
I grimaced and wadded the message up putting it in my pocket. Tria had a huge smile on her face. I rolled my eyes and shook my head in exasperation.
Felix gave me a quizzical look. “Is it a coded message?”
A small frown crossed the young Zaen’s face, but the look on mine made it quickly vanish. He gave me the proper acknowledgement.
“Once you have the programming for the missiles entered into the replicator, I want those documents fed into it and not another word mentioned about them.”
Felix nodded in agreement and went back to work on the missile project.
“Justice, alert the engineers to go ahead and demolish the shuttle.”
Tria looked me in the eyes. “Perhaps it is time to quit blaming Sael for the actions of the military council. I think she has proven she can be trusted and she is firmly backing our cause. When our current supply of missiles is expended, we will not have to beg the military council to sell us more at inflated prices. I believe the council was thinking that credits paid to us would be recouped at some future date. Sael knowingly saved us large sums of credits”
“I agree. She practices her brinkmanship at such high levels, I find it difficult at times to decipher who’s interest she has at heart: hers, the council’s, or ours. It still irks me that it seems she has been dangling transporter technology within our grasp only to pull it away.”
“I think she has tried to manipulate the council in such a way that we might possibly end up with it, but they have taken actions to ensure we don’t. It must never look as if Sael knowingly assisted us in gaining my people’s most closely guarded secrets. She could be stripped of her rank and status and cast out from our home worlds. Now that the Fury is operational, she might have the freedom to be the ally we were expecting her to be.”
