McElligott said, “I, too, must follow orders, and I will call you back within the hour. I must discuss this with others. Mr. Narth, are you convinced he speaks the truth?”
Narth answered, “Yes, sir, his mind is open, and it is indeed his wish.”
It didn’t take him an hour to call back. The President of the Union himself, as well as the Vice President, were also present, and it was something else to see these VIPs beamed as holos from my wrist com. The President welcomed the old merchant and the golden ones into the Union and invited the delegation to come to Pluribus to make it official. Sobody called in a group of old-looking Goldens, who confirmed it all and also signed a contract to the effect that whatever would happen to the old merchant while aboard my ship would not affect the new relations in any shape or form.
It was agreed to send for a mobile extended-reach GalNet terminal, and I had it brought up from my ship to ease further communication.
The Delegation of Elders would leave as soon as the Baghdad arrived.
After the President and VP were disconnected, McElligott spoke directly to me, “We had no other choice, really, and I did give him my word not to alter your mission, and so you are stuck with that merchant. I wish I could see another solution. However, he is to be aboard your ship as a specialist without special duty. You are the captain, and the ship comes first, but if you can, try to bring him back alive. Wait for the battlegroup to arrive. I am sending additional units to secure that rock and help with the damaged civilians.”
I said with a sigh, “Just lovely, sir. Bring him back alive. Yes, sir.”
McElligott shrugged, rolled his eyes, and disconnected.
I looked at the Golden and said, “You are serious, right?”
He nodded. “I just ordered my entire civilization to basically abandon our way of life, and you ask me if I am serious?”
“Yes, sir, because I find your offer is so far out of proportion to your single request. I am sure the Assembly would have granted you your own ship, even built you one, and given you a crew of Terrans.”
He still smiled and said, “You are very sharp and very intuitive indeed. To be honest, not that I wasn’t before, but my Circle of Elders and I prepared this step for quite a while. We would have asked for membership anyway, within the next month. Your Union is growing, and it is not doing so by conquering others. I’ve seen other empires and I’ve studied them all; not even the most totalitarian society manages to keep such a high satisfaction and level of content among its citizens. I am not talking about the Klack or the X101 or any single-species society, but about empires and cultures that incorporate many different ones.”
He made a gesture around him. “You noticed my chamberlain encrusted in age-old forms and outdated views of the universe. I am not exalted just because I am rich and in charge of my people. I am not wiser than others just because I was born under the shining diamond or because my father ruled before me. But changing these things is not easy and takes time. Being members of the Union will give the seventy-five billion Goldens not only a stable market to deal and prosper, but it gives each Golden the very chance I am taking now of maybe becoming something other than a merchant. Maybe a doctor, an engineer, or maybe one of my subjects wants to reject it all and join the GalDrifts. He or she now has this choice.”
He spread his short arms. “Well, soon they will. As I said, changes take time, but a society not willing to change and advance is a society that is doomed. But I wouldn’t be the ruler of a society of merchants and dealers if I couldn’t use this to fulfill a dream of mine. What is so bad about this?”
Somehow, I couldn’t really be mad at the Golden anymore. Narth told me that he was genuine or at least told the truth, and I sensed Narth still trusting his words. What he said made sense, and while it was a little beyond my expertise, I could not find anything to object to his reasoning. If he wanted his own people to be free and if he wanted to be judged on his own merits rather than on titles and positions, then he hit the right buttons with me.
I said to him, “Because you are a VIP, the leader of a society, and I am new to this captain business, and I am on a very unusual mission with very unusual parameters. Having someone along who hasn’t finished the Academy, who should not be put in harm’s way is not exactly something I am looking forward to. Maybe your wish is genuine, but as the leader you claim to be, you see my dilemma, I am certain.”
“Captain Smith. I do understand that I basically blackmailed myself into your crew and under your command, but I assure you I am under your command. While I have not completed that marvelous and quite legendary Union Academy training, I have been traveling this universe for a very long time and have some experience in all matters of space travel. I don’t claim to know it all, and I don’t know much about the details of being a crew member on a Union ship. I do claim to be a willing learner and want to prove to you that I am really serious about all this. I hereby ask you, without any conditions, to accept me into your crew. If you say no, I travel with the old ones to Pluribus and do what I promised to do and step down as the First Merchant afterward. If you say yes, I give you my word I will do whatever you ask me to do, follow your orders, and not want any special treatment.”
I looked to Har-Hi, and he nodded. Elfi and Shea also declined their heads, and Narth said in my mind, “He has the capacity of deceit and is, because of his race and occupation, a master in manipulation. However, at the moment, he is truthful as a being can be. He really means what he says.”
I got up and said, “By the powers invested in me, I hereby conscript you, Sobody of the Golden, to the services of the United Stars Navy and as a crew member of my ship.”
For an old man, as he claimed to be, he jumped to his feet and saluted actually quite properly. “Yes, ma’am. Thank you, Captain. I accept your conscription.”
I sighed and put my hand on the little man’s shoulder. “Let us go to the ship, so we can fill you in on what we are doing. Maybe you’ll regret your decision after all.”
Sobody followed us back to the ship. When he saw the Y’All behind the airlock, holding four TKUs, he shrunk back for a moment in something like fear and then whistled. “A Narth and a real live Y’All together aboard a Union ship. If those are the wonders I am allowed to see just at the entrance to this ship, I can’t wait to see what wonders are hidden deeper inside.”
I frowned and looked at him. “A genuine Golden Merchant for one. The big boss of the whole outfit no less!”
He stepped into my way. “Captain, I know you don’t like this situation, and maybe you don’t like me, but I assure you I will follow your orders, and I promise no chore is beneath me. If you want environmental tanks scrubbed, I will do so with a cheer on my lips!”
Har-Hi thumbed at me. “The captain and I have our experience with that particular chore, and if you do that with a happy cheer on your lips, you are weirder than I thought!”
The little Golden man shrugged. “Our sense of smell is not very well developed. We usually only smell good business, but my secret dream is coming true, and I will do it if you want me to!”
I said to him, “No need, Golden Merchant, this is a brand-new ship. But maybe you should write a list of skills you have, so maybe we can find something for you to do.”
Inside the ship, he whistled again. “This sure does not look like an old Phobos Class Destroyer on the inside.”
Cirruit, who came around the corner, said, “You sure know your ship interiors.” I knew Cirruit came just to quell his curiosity.
The merchant nodded. “I do. I studied anything I could get my hands on regarding the Union and its equipment.”
Cirruit looked at me and said, “How long are we going to be here?”
I answered him, “We have to remain until the battlegroup arrives. That should be about two to three days.”
Narth corrected me, “The battlegroup and the USS Baghdad will be here in seventy-four hours.”
I turned my hands out in a gesture
of resignation. “I stand corrected then; our spooky OPS officer gave you the correct answer.”
Narth said, “That is what spooky and non-spooky OPS officers do, my upper-chest-enhanced, Captain.”
I almost choked on my own breath. “Maybe it is my own fault, giving you nicknames. I guess I better stick to proper names and titles.”
Har-Hi barely managed to contain his laughter and earned a stern look from me.
Cirruit said, “Can you grant me shore leave? I’ll be careful, I promise, but I always wanted to go shopping at a Golden Bazaar!”
With a smile on my face, I said, “You have twelve hours shore leave; denying you the chance to shop here would be cruel and unusual punishment.”
Only now did I notice Cirruit had not come alone. A Holdian with a pointed nose, round ears, and long whiskers stood next to the X101. He was wearing a blue coverall; his coverall and the exposed silky soft fur were soiled with heavy stains. The little Holdian turned a ghastly-looking rag in his little paws and then tipped his head and said, “Captain, ma’am, I am Specialist Estree Warner. Were you serious that anyone could come to you with ideas and such?”
I nodded. “Yes, I was.”
He exposed his yellow rodent teeth even further and said, “Captain, there is this idea I really wanted to tell you about.”
“I have a moment to listen to your idea, but first tell me what are you actually doing? I thought we were well past the oil and steam propulsion age and this is a new ship.”
He looked down at himself, dropped his ears and whiskers at the same time, and his eyes got a shimmering moist quality as if I had scolded him. I wanted to kick myself for making such a cute little Holdian so sad and wondered if they looked like this at a Union judge if they could get away with murder. I was certain they could.
The Holdian said, “Captain, I apologize! I completely forgot that I was still dirty. You see, I was greasing the injector spear blades and the push shafts of the upper chandelier diverter when Cirruit told me we had a Golden aboard, so I went along to look. I forgot I was still full of NeutroD4 grease.”
Shea helped him out, “Crewmember Warner is a Holdian, and due to his agility and size, he can perform maintenance work in confined spaces without dismantling the unit. Cirruit has written a report about it.”
I nodded. “I am aware of Holdians and had the honor of meeting a very special one only recently. I am not faulting him for working, getting dirty doing it, or for being nosy. I simply wanted to know what kind of work required grease on a Starship that supposedly reaches Tech Level 9!”
Har-Hi glanced at me from the side. “Have you forgotten our own experience with silicone grease on the Devi gun deck?”
Before I could agree, Cirruit explained, “In order to control the indirect bleeding and thus influx of transdimensional energies that would destroy the controlled flow, a so-called chandelier diverter is pushed through a tube, which at its end sticks into another dimension, so to speak. A special grease paste is applied to the injector push-rod below the blades as it turns out. It is the only way to keep those spear blades moving while they are in the other dimension. Captain, we are the only ship in the fleet with this new type of drive and it is still very much in its development phase. We are basically writing the maintenance procedures, as there is very little documentation we can rely on. My little Holdian specialist knows this drive inside and out. He was there when they built ours, and he can get inside without us pulling a service one on them.”
I had all but forgotten the old merchant until the old man gasped, “Silver be tarnished! You Terrans actually cracked the TD energy transfer secret! There are only a handful species in twenty-five galaxies who ever did, as far as I know. Come to think of it, the Ilwathi of the Leo II Galaxy use special grease for a very similar purpose. I think we even have a dozen barrels of it here and, if I remember correctly, a case of Ilwathi spare parts, too.”
Shea became very interested. “I would not mind purchasing it from you, so we can analyze it.”
The Golden said, “I am a member of this crew now; the stores of the Golden are open to you. I will forward your request and have it delivered imminently.”
I said, “While I think we should have meetings in the meeting room and not right here in Airlock Room 4.” I turned to the Holdian and said, “Please tell me your idea. I have not forgotten you asked.”
He started to wipe his hands again, and he said, “Ma’am, that is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. I was thinking since we are supposed to be pirates and we might need to entertain guests and all that, our meeting room would be inadequate for this so we could turn our empty B hangar into a pirate den. You know, like they have in those old Three-Dees. Real cool with treasures in the corners and a skeleton in a cage and all that. Besides, we do need a place for our treasures and the special valuable loot. We could put in a big table with impressive chairs and decorate the whole hangar so we can let guests in through the side ramp and never show them the rest of the ship.”
I went to my knees and put my hand on his tiny shoulders. “That is actually a very good idea, Mr. Holdian. I put you in charge of this project.”
The old merchant clapped his hands. “It is getting better by the minute! You are going to be pirates?”
I simply told him the entire story, just leaving out a few technical details and he listened and became quite serious.
“I don’t like pirates one bit.” He glanced at Har-Hi and added, “I don’t mean the Dai; they honor their opponents and don’t slaughter the innocent. I did hear about this Red Dragon who attacked Outpost 96 so recently. I’ve seen reports from my own Intelligence service about just how vicious and disproportionally violent he is toward his victims. I don’t know if you know, but we Golden deal in anything, except sentient lifeforms. Slave business is prohibited, and we deal with our own who violate that quite severely.”
I knew he spoke the truth. I remembered the Golden slave dealer on Alvor’s Cove.
He rubbed his chin. “That Barracuda was here indeed just a few days ago, and I am certain they went to Brhama Port, which is an asteroid base much like this one, run by an independent Bassett family of Roid-Miners. It is also a known pirate base as there is a backdoor into the Union nearby. I also know of a dealer on Sin4 who has Loki torpedoes. Next to the translocator cannons, Loki torpedoes are the most desired Mil-Tech there is. No other species has anything comparable. The pirate known as Red Dragon was here, trying to buy spare parts and new ISAH pods. His shiny and unique ship didn’t look so shiny and new when he was here. His ship’s aft section was severely damaged.”
Listening to Sobody, I realized having him aboard might prove to be more valuable than anticipated. He seemed to know much about Free Space and what was going on here. To hear about a backdoor into Union Space was quite disturbing. It also became clear I would have to return to Sin 4.
I was so distracted by my own thoughts that Narth had to call me mentally and tell me that the Golden was still taking to me.
He said, “Now that I know your secret, I am sure you might object, but if you think you can trust me, please let me out once more. I want to go with the little Holdian and help him get a few treasures worthy of a pirate of your reputation. In order to blend in, we must visit the various pirate hideouts and the trade markets on Sin 4, Alvor’s Cove, and many other such places. Pirates and other scum go there to brag, buy parts, sell or purchase ships, and, of course, turn their loot into profit and polos. It is at those places they band together for raiding parties and pack attacks.”
I said, “Mr. Sobody, we can’t really keep you prisoner, and so far, Narth trusts you and that has more weight with me than anything else. So, yes, I trust you, too.”
To the Holdian specialist, he said, “Would you accept my company since you are in charge of decorations and that is what we are going to get?”
Two days later, Har-Hi came into my office and said, “The battlegroup and the Baghdad have just arrived.”
It was Three-Four the Non-Corp who called me just as Har-Hi had told me the news and said, “Sir, we are being hailed by the USS Baghdad. Captain Changpu Rong is on Fleet Chanel for you.”
Since Three-Four was on the bridge, it was already second dog watch, meaning it had to be past 0600 hrs. I took the call right from my desk. A human female captain became visible on the screen. She wore her black hair in a similar style as Elfi but had more slanted eyes.
She actually smiled as she saw me and said, “Good evening Captain Smith, and nice to meet the Captain of the USS Enigma. I am Captain Rong, and I have direct orders from Fleet Command to take charge of the situation here, and you are free now to continue with your mission.”
I thanked her and briefed her on the non-classified parts of the situation.
After I had talked to the battleship captain, I had Ship switch to external visuals, and I could see two majestic white Union Hospital Ships drift into view, deploying D20 shuttles in paramedic configuration. A huge Fleet Mobile Repair Dock dropped moments later out of quasi-space; an enormous disc with large tractor-projectors and manipulation arms able to plug entire ships out of space, place them onto the repair platform, and repair even the most damaged ships.
Har-Hi, who stood next to me, said, “It is amazing; sometimes I think it is this incredible efficiency of our Union that makes all the difference and not the battleships. That 14,000 meter MRP to me is just as amazing as the Devi, and it is not an alien product. When I was a boy, my father often told me about hospital ships and the Fleet Tender Units the Union had. Like so many other Dai, I laughed and found it a waste of resources to have ships dedicated to the care of the sick, but I learned that the Union is far more envied over these by others than for battleships and translocator cannons.”
I agreed with him and called the bridge.
Fective answered from the Conn, “Yes, ma’am?”
“Call all personnel who are still on shore back to the ship and prepare to undock within the hour.”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 87
