Har-Hi said, “Touch that chest and you touch nothing ever again with your own hands.”
His men drew weapons and he said, “Do the math, Dai. Ten against three. Your leather-clad monster isn’t here.”
The barkeep yelled, “I don’t care what business you have with each other, but no energy weapons. If you want to brawl with swords and knives, be my guest, but you pay for the damage.”
Now Crimson Curse got up, smashing his fist onto the metal table so hard it left a sizable dent. “Enough of this! Freespace is shrinking by the day and the places our kind can rest and trade are not as common as they used to be. It is you troublemakers who spoil it for the rest of us. If you have quarrels, duke it out captain versus captain as has always been the custom.”
Bloom raised his arms. “Well, so be it then. I fight the female and get the polos. What a splendid suggestion, Ugly Crimson!”
Har-Hi shook his head. “That is a bad idea, Bloom. Reconsider and fight me instead.”
Bloom laughed. “If she wants to play pirate and fly with the big boys then she needs to fight herself. I have no problem spanking her into submission.”
I got up so fast, my chair flew and crashed against the wall somewhere in the back. While I was flanking myself over the table, I raked both of my bootheels across his throat and face. My training with Master Alameda and the Academy instructors, the instructions of Siegfrieda, Richard the Outcast, and mental uploads I’d received from the Sojonit sisters merged into an instinctive, distinct style all of my own. I was at a point where I was able to act almost faster than I could think. My reaction was fueled by the old familiar Olafson rage and my growing dislike of Thaurans.
Still in motion, I hit the floor and spin kicked the Oghar right next to Bloom for good measure. The Ultronit heels of my boots were terrible weapons at close quarters.
Bloom staggered backward, his hands trying to stop the blood spraying from his throat wound.
My Colt .45 roared and the heavy lead slug tore into the head of the recovering Oghar, proving once again what a deadly weapon this old gun really was.
Bloom had dropped to his knees, an expression of pain and the certain knowledge of impending death on his face as he reached out with his other hand. There was no mercy and no feeling of remorse as I pointed the muzzle of the antique Colt at his forehead and ended his misery with a gory explosion of blood and brains.
Har-Hi had been right behind me, both swords drawn, decapitating two of Bloom’s men in a dazzling lightning-fast move. A third stared at his arm stump, his right hand fallen on the floor still clutching a blaster.
Our constant cross-training showed that Shea was no longer just a science geek but a force to be reckoned with, as she had her strange sword at the throat of the second Oghar, cutting pieces out of his armor with little flicks of her wrist.
Even our Golden turned out to be much more than just an old man of a dwarf-like species. He moved his hand and arm in a strange motion, almost as if he threw something and then pulled at an imaginary string; the effect of his pantomimic moves, however, was deadly and gruesome. One of the Thauran crew members fell to the floor cut in half!
Sobody glared at the remaining men and said, “He should have thought twice before pulling a dagger on my captain while I am around.”
I looked around and said, “Anyone else thinking I can’t play with the boys, step on up!”
All this had happened so fast, Crimson was still standing.
Swift whistled again. “Holy shit!”
Har-Hi carefully cleaned his blades with a piece of silk he always carried and said as he put the swords away, “I did warn him. I might just have clipped an ear of his.”
Crimson sat back down and said, “Good riddance to Bloom. Maybe we can drink in peace now. Captain Velvet, you are, of course, welcome to join us here at the captains’ table.”
One of the surviving crew members of Bloom’s group said, “What of us now? Are we to report to your ship?”
I nodded. “That’s right. Go get your crew and report to the Silver Streak.”
Har-Hi got up. “I’ll make sure they are properly accommodated.”
Har-Hi proved just how strong he was as he shouldered the heavy money chest and he and Shea left followed by Bloom’s men.
Just as I was sitting down at the captains’ table, a representative of the Bassett family approached and said, “I am Kooornt Bassett and I can make you an offer if you want for both ships.”
I pointed to the Golden. “My quartermaster will take care of that.”
Sobody grinned from ear to ear and went with the man to a different table.
Swift said, “You certainly live up to your legend and then some.” He touched his throat and then glanced at the body of Bloom.
Crimson quaffed another tankard of Oghar brew and ordered a plate of lum-lum chews. “It is a good thing you dealt with that Thauran. Otherwise, I would have. He is just like that cursed Red Dragon and his Sinister Alliance, stirring things up too much.” He looked around and leaned forward. “The Dragon keeps poking the Union like he did recently with his stunt attacking a Union Outpost. They might start listening to the Eternal Warrior and roll in, giving a hoot about treaties and Freespace, and then our days will be counted.”
Swift said, “Well, the Shiss, the Kermac, and the Nul will have a word in that as well. I doubt the Union will risk a war over pirates.”
Crimson made a wiping gesture with his big hands. “They can’t stop the Union. I tell you, Red Dragon and his Sinister Alliance are bad news.”
Swift shrugged. “I was considering flying to Itheamh and finding out where their secret meeting place is and joining the Sinister Alliance. There are rumors they plan for something big.”
Crimson took one of the lum-lums that had just been served, but did not eat. Instead, he said, “What use do we have for alliances? Is it not the very reason we do what we do, to be free of other men’s rules and laws? What good did his last big raid do him?”
I shrugged and played the uninformed. “I played in another region of the Galaxy and haven’t been in touch with the news lately. Did they not attack a Union outpost or something like that?”
Crimson chewed with his massive jaws and gave Swift a side look from his small yellow eyes and said after he swallowed, “Aye, he did, Outpost 96. Huge pirate fleet, and a decoy fleet full of ground troops to boot, filled with every gun-wielding scum he could hire on Sin 4 and Itheamh. Lightly defended, he claimed it would be, and yet he got his arse kicked by a bunch of Wolfcraft fighters. He was the only one escaping with nothing in his holds but air and a hole as big as a planet in his ship. If he has some personal vendetta against the Union, let him do it on his own. I’d rather be dead than fly with his Sinister Alliance.”
He grabbed another lum-lum and bit into it with resolve. Then he pushed the plate over and invited Swift and me to take one as well.
Swift declined and sipped on a glass with a greenish thick liquid that smelled strongly of fermented fruits and said, “Maybe you are right; you’ve been in this business longer than most.”
The Bassett brother came to me and sighed, pointing at Sobody, who looked as pleased as a Nubhir wolf that got the big bone. “Smart move, Captain Velvet, to have a Golden do business for you. If we had continued haggling, I would have been lucky walking out of here with my pants still mine.”
Sobody also got up and came over as well. “I am going with my new friend Kooornt and make sure we get paid.”
I said, “You did well, I assume?”
“Considering the location and the small market, yes, captain.”
After they left, Crimson finished a sixth lum-lum and said, “Well, I am off. I suggest you both do the same.” He leaned forward once again and lowered his voice as much as he could. “This region isn’t going to be safe much longer.”
Swift made a surprised face. “Why are you saying this? This is still Freespace!”
Crimson touched his jeweled-encrusted gold-e
ncased tusk. “I have it on good authority that the Dai Lord Cam Elf-Na united over 2,000 clans under his leadership into one massive mega clan. It is said he is out for revenge. Anyone guilty of dealing with Dai artifacts will feel their wrath. The Bassetts made a killing on Dai scrap, as you know. The big fight between Union and Dai happened not far from here. Cam Elf Na will need lots of raw materials for the Dai factory ships when he attacks the Union, which I am certain is his next move.”
Swift waved his hand. “I actually heard the same rumor on Itheamh, but the Bassetts have a defense alliance with the Togar and they aren’t far from here. The Togar do keep their contracts; their queen is known for it.”
Crimson placed a few coins on the table. “I care not what you believe, but the queen would need more than two-thirds of the Togar fleet to defeat 2,000 Dai clans, and I doubt the queen will make such an effort to defend an unimportant partner like the Bassetts. I think Cam Elf-Na has the power to take on almost anyone in Freespace now. No one is really safe. Not Sin 4, not Itheamh, not the Karthanians. It would take the reunification of all Oghar kingdoms to stop him, and that won’t happen even if the Galaxy turns its spin; and if he moves across into Union Space, he will cut a swath of destruction before the Union can stop him. In any case, this area of space will soon be too hot for any individual spaceship.”
With those words, the Oghar captain left.
Swift said, “I am heading for Sin 4, and two ships are safer than one. If you’re heading that direction, Velvet, we could fly together.”
I nodded. “As a matter of fact, I am going that way, too. So, yes, it might be a good idea. I am leaving early in the morning as well.”
That suited me just fine and if everything went according to plan, he would arrive on Sin 4 inside my cargo bay and inside a Zero Stasis Box.
The Pertharian cleaned the table of empty mugs and plates and pointed at the dead pirates. “Do you want them or can I clean up?”
“No, I have no need for bodies. What do I owe you for the cleanup?”
“I sell their bodies and gear. This and whatever change they have on them will do for payment.”
Swift stretched his arms. “Well, I am hungry, too, but the stench of death soured my appetite. This asteroid has a few decent restaurants in the upper tier. This is where I am headed.”
He gestured toward the Pertharian who loaded the dead onto a sturdy hover cart. “Besides the next batch of lum-lums might be à la Thauran. Care to join me for dinner?”
“Maybe some other time. I have a ship to attend to, and I prefer the fare served in my galley anyway.”
He laughed. “You are lucky then. We take turns preparing meals on the Swift Profit and none of us is a gifted chef. This is the main reason I come here, to eat something that isn’t raw or burned. What would I give for a decent food printer, an automated galley, or a robo chef.” He got up. “Well, if you change your mind, I will be in the Harpir’s Lion on the top tier. If not, we will talk tomorrow when we leave for Sin 4.”
He rapped his knuckles against the table and left.
Chapter 7: Mikesh
I suddenly found myself sitting pretty much alone in the dimly lit tavern.
I got up, too, and decided to check out the asteroid base a little more. I still contemplated ways to put it somehow out of business, since destroying it was off the table.
The tavern was not the only business on this level. There was a ship parts dealer, a merchant selling water and food items in bulk to replenish ship stores.
Next to it was a place that sold mining tools and supplies.
There I observed a big Human miner in a smudgy yellowish coverall or maybe some sort of utility spacesuit. He was halfway surrounded by a group of four unsavory-looking characters. A Jooltar, a being that looked like a smaller-sized Shiss, and two Humans. They wore armor and battlesuit pieces, and they were armed.
At first, I paid no real attention and wanted to go on and explore more of the base or maybe go back to the Tigershark and see about the Togar female but the way the four beings crowded around the miner told me trouble was brewing. The corridor was not wide enough for me to pass by unnoticed or at a safe distance.
The Jooltar said, “Didn’t we tell you not to come to the station anymore? It is simply not safe for you.”
“I have a right to be here, just as you. Tell him that I will not sell my claim.”
“That is the problem. If you let us have your claim, all problems disappear. You struck it rich, didn’t you?”
“What is it to you? I have been digging for 40 years now.”
The lizard being raised a club to strike the man. “I think you need a lesson and then we will walk to the claim office.”
The four started to beat the man, who tried to shield his face with his arms. They were merciless and brutal.
I shouldered myself past the four and said, “Would you mind clearing the entrance? No one can get in that store with you crowding the door like that.”
For a short moment, they all were so surprised about my sudden appearance in their midst that they forgot what they were doing.
The Jooltar muttered, “She is right, you know, we are blocking—”
One of the Humans whacked the Jooltar. “You stupid mutt, of course, we are.”
The same Human grabbed me by the arm. “You beat it and disappear very fast or you join this stubborn ‘roid digger in the infirmary.”
“I was in the market to buy one of these things with the yellow handle over there, not that I know what it is but I needed exactly one of those. Now, there are two things I hate. Unfair situations and being touched unasked.”
They started to laugh. “You are quite cheeky—”
I grabbed his hand that still was on my shoulder, right by the wrist, and gave it a powerful twist and buried my knee between his legs.
The Yoltaar was the fastest, reacting while I still dealt with the Human, but still slow enough for me to stomp on his foot. My heel dug deep into his boot.
They weren’t a real challenge and, a few moments later, they littered the ground and didn’t move.
Killing Bloom earlier was not really necessary, and fighting four brawlers about a local affair that didn’t mean a thing to our mission was even more foolish. This was not how a Union officer behaved, not even undercover.
The miner came staggering to his feet and stood there unsteady and wobbling.
I said to him, “Well, mister, they won’t bother you for a while. Why don’t you find that infirmary they talked about and have yourself fixed up?”
He pulled a ghastly-looking rag from a belt pouch and pressed it on a bleeding cut over his right eye. “I am going to be all right, Captain Velvet. Thanks to you!”
“Well, seems you know who I am. Since the situation appears to be under control, I am on my way.”
“Please, wait, ma’am. Let me make it up to you. You saved my life.”
“No worries about that. It was on the house. I don’t like unfair situations, it’s sort of a hobby of mine, not a very sensible hobby, mind you.”
“Please, it would mean a great deal to me if you came to my rock. I think I have something you might be interested in, something of great value to a pirate like you. No one ever stood up for me like that, and I want to thank you.”
“You just told those thugs you worked for what you have, and I certainly don’t want to take any valuables from you. I am not hurting for money or loot.”
He gestured toward the still unconscious brawlers. “All a miner has to do is buy a license from the Bassetts, and sell minerals and ore to the Bassett family, and he is reasonably safe and protected.” He sighed with sagging shoulders. “That, of course, does not hold true for family. I am a Bassett and so is the good-for-nothing, greedy son of a bitch who sent these bruisers after me.”
That made me stop, as I was already on the move. “You are a Bassett? Aren’t you guys running this place?”
He gathered the supplies he had dropped. “This fami
ly has over 1,000 members, Black Velvet, and not all are blood. Have you ever heard of any big family without a feud?”
Coming from Nilfeheim with big clans and families and family feuds that lasted centuries, I almost immediately understood. “No, I haven’t.”
I took a bag of his and said, “All right, I am game. Show me that valuable, whatever it is.”
“You are an enigma, Black Velvet, and I don’t mean that because you wear a mask and all the stories they tell of you being 400 years old and turned into a demon by the monsters of the Igras Expanse.”
“I had no idea that was a rumor; I mean the demon part.”
He gestured to a simple hoversled and put the boxes he carried on the flat cargo area. “There isn’t all that much in terms of entertainment around here. Everyone loves the stories told by the travelers, pirates, and transients passing through. They say you escaped Union hunters by entering the Igras Expanse. Now you are back 400 years later. Not even the scoopers at the fringes of the expanse dare to venture deeper, and there always have been legends of spaceborn demons.”
I put the bag I was carrying for him into the cargo bed. “Space is so vast and the Igras Expanse is far from here. I never knew rumors and legends traveled so far.”
“There are many legends and stories and this place is visited by many travelers from all over the Galaxy.” He pointed down the corridor. “My ship is at the end of mooring arm two.”
I climbed onto the equally simple passenger seat, while he sat behind the two-lever controls. As the sled accelerated to a breathtaking speed of perhaps 30 kilometers an hour at most, he said, “That Igras soup is so thick that no ship can cross it, and there are many old stories of fiery demons and winged monsters appearing to scoopers, pirates, and the occasional traveler.”
“Do you think I am a demon?”
He nodded. “I seen that huge monster that brought your polos. I’ve seen what you did to the Thauran back in the Tavern. I also witnessed what you did to Ilkesh’s bruisers. But then you help a dirty no-name like me.”
I changed the subject. “So, are you the black sheep of the family or is it that Ilkesh you mentioned?”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 105
