Alyica said, “He is under a hypnotic control, but still, I know he speaks the truth. There is a bomb somewhere near and ready to be activated.”
The Narth declined his head slightly. “One would wager that such a device as the one that is directly below us is not sufficient to atomize half the planet. It is only a 1000 kilo bomb of antimatter, it will, however, be sufficient to kill. Having been reincarnated so recently, I must say I do not look forward to dying again and this time permanently.”
Richard said, “Alyica and Narth, you can teleport yourself and hopefully some others with you to safety. Take McElligott and whoever you can. I will stay and try to negotiate.”
Cirruit said to Narth, “Can you teleport me to that bomb? I am sure I can deactivate it.”
Before Cirruit even completed his last word, he and Narth vanished into thin air.
The hypnotized Dent cackled with a strange laughter, “Too late, you all die now!”
Nothing happened, but Dent’s eyes rolled down, and he looked completely surprised and baffled. “What did just happen?”
One of the Academy commandants looked at his PDD. “The ten minutes have just ended.”
Out through the window next to the glaring sun, a new star flashed into existence and sent blinding light erasing every shadow on this side of Newport for a long moment.
Stahl spoke into his PDD giving orders. McElligott got up and spoke for the first time since the ordeal begun. “I don’t care what it will take or cost; I want every resource, every man, every ship to hunt that Worm. No one sleeps, takes a break or a vacation until we have eradicated this disease from our fleet.”
Dent, still standing behind his desk, said, “Never get into something without a Plan B.” He pointed his PDD at Stahl; two streaks of silver hissed through the air. One decapitated Dent and the other severed his hand, while a blaster bolt from the PDD hit the wall only inches from the head of the ancient warrior.
Stahl brushed his hand over his singed hair and then gave Har-Hi a brief smile. “Marines from the Devastator are dropping on Newport as we speak to secure this place, but you, my Dai friend, saved my life.”
Cirruit came in carrying the Narth, who appeared dead. “He teleported the bomb into space; he said it would drain all his energies, and he was not sure if he could teleport so much weight far enough so it would not do any damage. He did it, but he collapsed and hasn’t moved since.”
A solemn silence fell over the room, and everyone stared at the limp shrouded body.
Stahl was about to break the silence and say something when the Narth stirred and lifted his arm.
“One is deeply moved by the feelings directed toward my person. I did somewhat overextend myself and need to return to Narth Prime.”
Stahl said to Har-Hi, “Take that Barracuda of yours and bring him as fast as you can to Narth Prime. The Barracuda is the fastest ship available.”
Har-Hi acknowledged the order and gathered his knives, spat on the dead Admiral and went to the door, followed by his friends, but Wetmouth turned. “Sir, what about Eric?”
“If anyone can find him or know where he is then it is the Narth Supreme. Now go, I promise you we will turn every rock to do our part to find your friend.”
Eric
When I came around, I found myself in a large bed with peach-colored satin sheets. The bed had curtains, a mirror above the bed and it stood in a large girlish decorated room in matching colors.
My arm was bandaged with a stiff bone-mender patch; I was clean and otherwise naked under the thin soft sheet. There was no pain from my leg, and it was bandaged with a rigid plastic film.
The Sojonit sat in a chair reading something on a PDD and noticed me waking up. She looked exactly like Wetmouth with pink hair and a mask displaying a beautiful stiff woman’s face with an open mouth. Unlike Wetmouth, however, she did not wear a Union uniform but a sheer pink outfit with a skimpy bikini beneath it covering her only barely. She had her long legs crossed with long heeled boots on her feet.
Her voice was different from Wetmouth’s, too. “So you are Eric Olafson. Half the planet is looking for you. Someone put a huge bounty and a very good description of you in circulation. That is bad news on a planet without laws and full of bounty hunters, assassins, killers, and pirates, to name just the tip of the iceberg.”
I wanted to make sure and asked, “I am on Sin 4, right?”
“Yes, you are, and I just talked to the Mother Superior. She sent a message to Wetmouth to tell her you are alive.”
A rock as big as Nilfeheim rolled off my chest and I said, “Thank you, Moistpromise. Thank you for rescuing me.”
She laughed a friendly sounding laugh. “If anyone ever needed rescuing, it was you, Eric, but I am very glad I could help.”
I asked, “Is there a GalNet terminal somewhere, or some other means to get a message to fleet command?”
She nodded. “Yes at the SII-Bank and business center in the Uppers District, but getting you there will not be easy. Those who are looking for you will have eyes and ears all around that place and perhaps even scanning equipment. We are 170 light years away from the closest Union planet. Only the Union developed this marvelous instantaneous communication net. The Katarians have faster-than-light communication, but their FTL communication is still slower than a space ship, and it would take weeks to get a message to a Union planet that way. Of course, the Kermac have a PSI-Sender on their Enclave Island, but entrusting any information to a Kermac long-range telepath would not be advisable, and I am not sure if there is a connection to the Kermac Psi Sender net to the Union anyway.”
She got up and walked over and sat on the side of the bed and held her PDD over me. It made the characteristic sounds of a med scan in progress. She turned the display around and said, “You are one of the lucky few who survived a bone-hand crawler bite. The antidote and blood-cleansing drugs are working, and you will soon be as good as new.”
I looked at the display, and it confirmed her diagnosis. I said, “Thank you for patching me up and taking care of that. Before I saw you, I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. You saved my life.”
I saw her smile behind her mask, and she patted my shoulder. “Mother Superior commanded me to help you, and besides, it is a nice change of pace to help a young man instead of doing the other things.”
I asked, “Is it possible to leave this planet, perhaps booking a passage on a ship? These casinos need gamblers and they have to come from somewhere, right?”
She laughed again. “Eric this is Sin 4. We are in Free Space. There is no space bus service. Yes, I am sure you can get a ride on a ship, but you would have to hire one of the privateers that run passenger services and whoever is looking for you will have the two spaceports under close surveillance as well. I heard there is a bounty of five million Polo coins on your head; you could not trust anyone right now.”
I swallowed and almost whispered, “Can I trust you?”
She spread her arms. “You have to trust me, but no worries. We are bound by the rule of Mother Superior and the Goddess, and no amount of money can make us sell out! Mother Superior wants to see you, and that is where we go next.”
“Thank you for rescuing me!”
“It was a pleasure; besides I am a friend of Wetmouth and she has told me about you in many letters. I know you are close friends!”
“What happened to my uniform?”
“It’s somewhere on the bottom of the South Ocean. There was a tracker tacked to it and, hopefully, if they manage to track it finally, they think you are dead.”
I felt my heart slump. “There was a piece of metal in a leather holster I had. Is it on the bottom of the ocean as well?”
She shook her head. “No, I have sent your weapons to the temple; they are safe, and you can collect them there. All I kept here is that Union Bank credit box of yours.”
I thanked her and was glad that the Colt was not lost. That present I got from Stahl was not only quite dear to me, it h
ad saved my life now twice.
The Sojonit turned off the PDD and got up. “We need to leave soon and get you to the temple island. Only there will you be really safe, and Mother Superior will know what to do!”
I felt quite naked without any weapon, despite the fact that I was under those sheets. “Someone knows we are here?”
She shrugged. “I took as much care as I could while bringing you here, but this planet is also called the world of a million eyes, and someone could have seen me carry you in. Besides, this is only a love hotel and if they want to see who my customer is, I can’t refuse. We Sojonites are under the protection of the Four Families by old contracts, but whoever is searching for you, appears to have the blessing of the Four Families to find you. The temple island is off limits, but we need to get there!”
I wanted to get up and said, “Then we should go!”
She held me back and said, “Not like this. My flyer is open, and everyone can see who is inside. You need a disguise!”
I nodded and said, “All right.”
Her voice had a serious tone as she said, “It is forbidden by our highest laws that anyone who has not taken the oaths of our order shall impersonate a Sojonit. We command very high prices and respect for our services, and there are those who want to cash in on our brand. We kill those who do and without mercy, but our highest laws can be overruled by the will and command of she who is the Mother Superior and she told me to disguise you as a Sojonit. So, you can move and travel freely and go to the island.” She pointed at an Auto-Dresser. “It looks like an old model, but Mother Superior had sent it while you were still unconscious. It is a Saresii model and can do some temporary plastic surgery. Go, use it.”
She laughed as I wrapped the bed sheet around me to walk over to the machine. “Who do you think undressed you? Besides, there are no physical secrets, you hide nothing underneath that sheet a Sojonit hasn’t seen thousands of times.”
I blushed and said with a meek-sounding voice, “I can’t help it; I am from a very prudent and backwater society and being naked in front of a woman is one of those things…”
She stepped on the seam of the sheet, and I had to get in the machine without it. It seemed like a small eternity ago when I last used an Auto-Dresser this way on Wichita Planet. It took longer than usual, and the process was not entirely pleasant. I felt as if I was a piece of dough, Midril pounded, rolled, and shaped with her round and strong underarms.
But when I stepped out, I wore a corset-style top, a short skirt, and long boots; over it a sheer jacket and all in shades of pink. The body underneath all this was quite feminine and filled the skimpy outfit in the right places.
She nodded approvingly and then handed me a Sojonit mask and said with a solemn tone, “To a Sojonit, it is a very special day when she receives her mask and wig. You are the first ever as far as I know who is allowed to wear these and not be initiated by the order.”
I put the mask on. It felt warm and was soft and pliable, and she helped me with the wig. I had not forgotten about my other persona and the side of me I called Freya and when it came to the surface, the change in me was quite intense. This female persona that was part of me burst to life and brushed all maleness aside and felt free once more.
Moistpromise clapped her hands. “Either Wetmouth was a very good teacher, or you have hidden talents of your own. I know few females and even fewer males who could walk like that in those heels.”
I said, surprised by the soft female voice, “These are hidden talents. Wetmouth had little chance of wearing anything but a uniform since I’ve known her.”
She stepped back to inspect me with an approving nod. “Impractical they are and not exactly healthy. Fashion comes and goes, but high heels have always been a hallmark of female fashion the galaxy over.”
I had no real response, but simply enjoyed the feel and was certain no one would recognize me now, not even my friends. “There is a voice changer in the mask?”
She nodded. “Yes, these masks are way more than disguises. Now help me delete any trace of your presence.”
Under her instructions, we stripped the bed, threw the sheets down a garbage chute, and she pressed a contact on the Auto-Dresser. It fell apart in dozens of pieces, and they too went down the chute. We sprayed everything liberally with a strong-smelling disinfectant. She explained, “This will destroy any DNA traces of us being here, just in case someone is checking.”
I wondered if she had done such clandestine things before, as it seemed she had quite the experience, but I decided not to ask. I spotted the credit box on the nightstand and just out of curiosity, checked the readout and almost fell over. The readout showed a secure account with ten million Union Creds.
She came out of the bathroom and looked around. “As good as it gets. Let’s get out of here and pay for the room and for extra cleaning.”
We left the suite and went down a glass elevator into a plush decorated foyer. A truly white-faced humanoid with sunken eyes wearing a tuxedo-like outfit bowed slightly behind the counter and greeted us as we approached. “We are always very grateful for Sojonit patronage. I hope everything was to the Sister’s satisfaction?”
Moistpromise declined her head gracefully. “The Velvet Pasha meets the expectations of our customers, as always. We had a rather extensive session, and I would like to order immediate room service and book the room for the rest of the week.”
He pressed a contact and nodded. “Room service has been dispatched right away.”
The read out on his terminal showed 1900 Creds, and I swiped the box and left a hefty tip. I lowered the lashes behind the mask and said, “That is for you. Your attention to excellent service is well received.”
He pushed his chest out and smiled proudly. “You are too kind! Thank you so much. This is very generous.”
Just then, six beings came through the main entrance door. They wore armor-plated uniforms and were armed to the teeth. One of them came straight to the counter, touched a control on his left gauntlet and a projected holo of my face appeared floating above it. He barked at the white-skinned man behind the counter. “Have you seen this man?”
The desk attendant looked the man down. “This is the Pasha! We are operated and owned by the Maroni family! We would not divulge such information if we had it!” On his signal, a big Quadiped appeared from behind an alcove and planted his massive body behind the desk clerk and rasped with his steel barrel voice, “It is very unhealthy to mess with the Maroni. I suggest you bounty hunters leave now!”
“We have permissions from the Cartel to search. So, tell us, have you seen this man?”
The desk clerk shook his head, “No, I have not.”
Moistpromise took me by the arm and guided me toward the exit, one of the bounty hunters—more cyborg than man—stepped in our way, and he, too, produced the holo. “Have you seen him? There is a nice reward on his head!”
“We serviced no such man!” she said. “Now let us pass!”
He grunted something unfriendly, but one of his colleagues pulled at his shoulder. “Let the Sojos go. They are protected in ways you do not want to mess with.” I could feel their eyes on my back as we left for the park deck.
Her pink Mercedes was already waiting and only after she piloted it in a steep curve above the peaks of the skyscrapers and protected by its powerful shields did I relax. “Whew, I thought he noticed something.”
She giggled. “Yes, he did, your ass! He had lots of machine parts, but he was still a man.”
The city was as dirty and gray during the day as it was at night. The air was full of smoke and soot, and I looked around and sighed. “What a place!”
She looked at me from the side and said, “Sin 4 is not just casinos and prostitution. It produces lots of illegal wares. Drugs and weapons being on top of the list and companies take advantage of the cheap labor Lows, Skath, and slaves provide, and there are no regulations, no laws. All waste is simply dumped anywhere. The city as you see it below u
s spreads almost over the entire continent, and there are estimates that there are between eight and twelve billion beings living here, and most of them living at the bottom of the social feeding chain. Not even counting the true owners of this world, the native Sticks.”
I asked, “Who are the Sticks?”
She answered, “A tribal pre-industrial species that is native to Sin 4. They are treated even worse than the Skaakh. Most of them live on the Southern continent, but often they round them up for meat, for slave labor. It is very depressing.”
“I wonder why anyone wants to live here!”
“Because Sin 4 is within reach of the four big powers, not to mention the Kartanian, the Togar and dozens of smaller civilizations not associated to any of the big four.” She must have noticed despite my mask that I wondered who the big four were because she added, “Out here in known Free Space, we call the Union, the Kermac, the Nul-Nul, and the Shiss simply the Big Four. You know by treaty of the last cease-fire agreement; this is Free Space. None of the four powers are allowed to send warships here and all four watch closely the others don’t violate this treaty.
“So this world became a haven for the scum and criminal elements of the galaxy, and it is big business. Anything that is illegal in any of the four powers can be bought or sold here. It is a neutral meeting ground, hostages and blackmail money can be exchanged, as you learned yourself.”
I sighed. “Whenever I think I know a little about the universe, I find out I know really nothing.”
She steered the flyer toward the open ocean and said, “I think you need to be one of those mystical Immortals the Union claims to have, to really know and understand it all.”
I agreed with her, “Yes, I think you are right. Maybe Stahl and McElligott have a chance to do that.”
Moistpromise said, “Not that anyone believes they are real, but you mention the name of the Eternal Soldier around here in a spacers bar, and you can see real fear in the eyes of hardboiled privateers and pirates that usually fear nothing. Some believe he is just well-done propaganda or some kind of avatar projection, but there are quite a few who think he is a demon or a god.”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 57
