He looked me straight into the eyes. “Only a few months ago, I had them all at one place. Stahl and McElligott. I almost succeeded in killing them both. One of those cursed Narth interfered.”
He grew visibly angry and bunched the napkin into a tight wad. Then he pointed his spoon at me. “The Narth are but a hurdle that can be overcome. You see, the Worm is not limited to play just on Union side. I have contacts to the Shiss and the Nul, I play with the Kermac, and I know they have plans in motion to deal with the Narth once and for all. Then, my dear, my time has come to step out of the shadows and you have a chance to be there right at my side as my queen; as the Empress of the Galaxy.”
I took a spoon and tasted the milky soup. It was some sort of potato cream with mushrooms. “I think you lost your sanity somewhere in the process. If you honestly think that those paper-skin clowns of the Galactic Council could do anything to the Narth then you are betting on the wrong race. The Kermac could not even come up with a plan to oppose the Saresii.”
He regained his composure. “Men with ambitions and great vision have always been laughed at and considered insane. You, my dear, might have a long life ahead, as I think you are somehow connected to those witches inside the Igras Nebula, but you are still young, I can tell. The Kermac are much more resourceful than anyone in the Union knows. It is them who called the Y’All in the first place. It is them who inherited knowledge and technology of the UNI.”
He pointed his spoon at me. “All this, however, might be unimportant. The pirate you know as Red Dragon has Celtest technology and apparently knows the location of an intact war depot of this mysterious, long-vanished but highly advanced civilization. I know he bragged to you about it, perhaps even hinted to take you along. Have you not wondered where the Red Dragon got his Celtest equipment? Is it not his promise to share the riches of this Celtest depot with you, that made you follow him to Alvor’s Cove?”
I nodded. “He did manage to intrigue me.”
The Worm placed a small cylindrical object on the table. “This is a Celtest device. It was found many decades ago, right here in the sands of the largest desert. I have made my home here for a very long time, partially because of this reason. This once was a Celtest world, I am certain. The oceans that once covered this world ages ago made it a quite hospitable planet.” He toyed with the metallic tube. “A local legend tells about a Celtest wreck hidden beneath the sand and dust somewhere out here, but I am sure there is much more than that.”
He had managed to capture my undivided attention. “If it is you who found these things, why is it the Dragon has them?”
He took the device and held it up. “This is all that was found so far. The man you know as Red Dragon managed to steal a forgotten prototype spaceship. A ship like none other and right from the mighty Union. It was not only loaded with many experimental systems and technology of Union design but also genuine Celtest tech.”
He laughed. “I don’t know if you have ever been a Union citizen, my dear, but it has become so big they sometimes forget what they have. The Red Dragon has been a high-ranking officer in their fleet, before his criminal activity was discovered in an unforeseen chain of events.” He took a sip of his wine. “Anyhow, it was inert and seemed nothing more than alien scrap unrelated to the rest of the ship’s systems.
“After he decided to become a pirate, he came here and this little device suddenly became active for a few moments. It started to glow and all his previously inert Celtest equipment was suddenly online and operational. He also obtained information about a Celtest war depot. Unfortunately for me, I do not know how exactly.”
He looked at the small device. “He must have added something else to his Celtest possessions. This device became active just the other day once again.”
Narth said in my head, “Har-Hi is safe.”
I took another spoon while forming my response silently in my head. “Prepare for a very fast takeover, I don’t want anyone to escape from this place, wherever I am.”
Narth responded, “I never saw Har-Hi as angry as he is now. He heard your instructions, and we should be able to execute in 15 minutes. Shea is currently analyzing the ground scans to make sure we know where all the exits are.”
Aloud, I said, “What would happen if I agree to your plans?”
His lips curled into a smile. “If I knew it would be genuine, I’d make you my queen. I’ve been alone for a very long time and realize I needed a worthy companion. Of course, I can’t trust you right now and so you will have to get used to being restrained.”
He got up and walked around. “Be a good girl and put your hands on your back and I’ll show you what I mean. Don’t try anything stupid, I would hate to use the neuro ripper.”
I complied and he snapped cuffs around my wrists. Now the chair released my legs and he pulled it away, then he draped the purple cloak he had worn around my shoulders.
“See, no one would see you are restrained. You could have a little freedom and no one would see that you are under my control.”
“This is getting you off, right? Having a woman bound and helpless?”
He snickered. “I can’t deny it. It does have its charms, especially since it is such a strong-willed, stubborn wildcat as you are.”
He then took the ugly worm mask and said, “This is a more than a disguise; it is a symbol of power and filled with the finest Kermac psionic enhancers and shields. It allows me to contact my organization from anywhere and give orders and there are high-ranking officers in my organization that cringe and crawl on the floor just looking at it in fear. Fear can be a very powerful tool, my dear.” He pulled the thing over my head and said, “One day, I might even show you how it works.”
I could see him through the ring mouth and felt the thing moving as if I was wearing a heavy wet towel that was constantly shifting.
He clapped his hands. “How well it fits you. Now the Purple Worm is no longer alone. I will have one made for you just like it.”
“And I was worried about wearing a tad too much makeup.”
He removed it. “That is my plan for you, and I am almost certain you’ll get used to the cuffs eventually. In the meantime, it is me who takes pleasure from having someone to talk to. I also want to learn all about your friends in the Igras Expanse. I know they dabble in psionics as well and do not see eye-to-eye with the Narth, at least that is what the rumors say.”
Narth said, “We are all in position.”
I responded, “Let’s end this!”
I said to the Worm, “I met Admiral Stahl; he is, as you say, integrity incarnate. I met McElligott and others who are considered to be Immortals, yet you seem the most foolish of them all. You could not begin to comprehend what the Coven is. They don’t dabble in psionics. You underestimate me and think I am helpless just because you slap cuffs on me. The days of the Worm are counted, and you helped me to end them even faster.”
He took a step back. “Who are you really? There aren’t many who have seen these men in person and most certainly not a pirate.”
Just then the concealed rock door burst into pieces as a Gray Nul holding two TKUs burst into the room. From the opening, a badly mangled brown-robed being flew into the room and crash landed with a sickening wet sound on the finely laid out table, blood dripping from it to the polished floor. The equally frightening TheOther followed. He held three TKUs and a chainsword.
The Purple Worm reacted quite fast and pulled a weapon from his belt, but dropped it as he felt the razor-sharp blade of a Dai sword on his Adam’s apple. Har-Hi and Narth had appeared right behind him, and I could tell Har-Hi was really fired up and barely able to restrain himself.
Shea came in, holding her mysterious sword, and used it to cut the cuffs away that restrained my wrists. While doing so, she whispered in my ear, “You are the most gorgeous damsel in distress, my dear captain. Red velvet and a purple cape looks good on you.”
Before I could scold her for that, a part of the wooden shelf toppled
over with a thundering crash and a hail of wooden splinters, revealing a previously hidden control room behind it. Hans appeared, holding another one of the small beings in his left hand, while tossing another clear across the room.
Hans stomped over and said, “Captain, the compound is secure; no one escaped.”
The Worm, still having Har-Hi’s sword at his throat, was now peeled out of his clothing. Behind Hans, our Leedei came in the room.
Narth said, “He is well shielded, indeed, but now that I do not have to restrain myself, I can confirm that is indeed Hector Vargas, formerly of Earth and one of the Immortals picked by the Guardian.”
Circuit appeared from the control room and said, “Captain, Shea’s code breaker worked. I am in his computronic.”
The Purple Worm spoke for the first time and it was clear he was in shock. “This can’t be; this can’t be the end!”
Then he looked up and saw Krabbel coming in, tossing another lifeless brown-robed being in the room.
“The Archa, the Saturnian, the Dai. You are the former Olafson gang! You aren’t pirates!”
I said to him, “As I said, for being the leader of such a successful organization, you are quite the moron. No, we aren’t really pirates.”
He tried to laugh as he looked at me. “I am indeed a blind fool! I fell in love with—with—You are Olafson, the boy from Nilfeheim who likes to dress as a woman. I thought you died on Sin 4.”
I smiled at him. “Isn’t life full of surprises? Now you know why it just could not work out between the two of us. Not that I like being abducted, twice!”
His eyes flickered toward Narth. “Keep out of my head! I am not subject to your petty laws. I have a mission to fulfill. You can’t defeat the Worm. I will find a way to escape; I will slither between the cracks of your prisons. The Worm is bigger than you all.”
“I am sure you will be replaced. Anyone with that spooky mask of yours can take your position and place. But I have a capable crew and very formidable contacts. They’ll figure out how it works and we’ll download every iota of information from your brain and roll that organization up from the top down, but it won’t be you.”
Narth said, “I just deactivated a suicide device implant he tried to activate. It would be advisable to scan him very closely.”
He screamed, “You are the real monsters; you are the real criminals! You killed my friends. The Sand People suffered already greatly from Union hands and now you killed what is left. Don’t you realize the need for the Worm? Without it, your Fleet becomes invincible and can do whatever it wants.
“No one at the Assembly knows that a former admiral became a ruthless pirate and now will gain access to Celtest technology. You are here in violation of signed treaties. Treaties signed by the Assembly and no clandestine operation approved by the Fleet can simply circumvent that. Don’t you realize that you are the criminals and those who sent you act beyond the laws? Union Court would have to find you guilty, all of you! It does not matter if it was sanctioned by your Immortal admirals. If Stahl knows about this then he, too, slipped and is no longer that beacon of righteousness you all say he is.”
While some of it had a ring of truth, I pointed at the shelves. “You have a lot of books around but I doubt you ever went to Union school. We are here by the expressed will of the Union Assembly and details known to the Security Council. We are currently not assigned to the Union Fleet, but act under the auspice of NAVINT, who by Union law is permitted to operate anywhere outside Union Space to do the same things you just quoted to be your motivation and agenda. We don’t need anyone or anything crawling between cracks. It is the will of the citizens that keeps the Fleet in check and not some loon in an ugly costume.”
To Narth, I said, “Have Cateria examine him and put him in stasis. As soon as Circuit has all the data he needs, set a charge and blow this place up. Make sure we get all the details about the Seenian tech and his involvement with the Red Dragon. He seems to be a significant piece of the puzzle.”
“No!” he screamed. “Don’t do this! My collection. These are books and art from Earth, irreplaceable!”
He was forced on a gurney of a med robot and fell silent as Cateria examined him.
I did not blow up the place. There was too much and a sizeable collection of Seenian artifacts. We crated and packed the things Cateria, Narth, and Shea deemed important but not without scanning and examining every piece. I had no intention of taking aboard some sort of Trojan horse. Since I didn’t want to explain to the other pirates what we were doing, I had the Tigershark repositioned. Sure enough, the Red Dragon called as he noticed us taking off, and I told him I would be back shortly, without much of an explanation. I decided to let him find an explanation of his own.
Surprisingly, he did. When we returned to the landing field the next day, he called and said, “I just got word you actually bought this whole damn world. The Local Lord Guard just informed me that we have a new Local Lady and that it is you, respect, respect. That is a serious bargain you made, and I bet you inspected those defense forts. They alone are worth the price I heard you paid.”
I shrugged. “I wish I could claim that world for my own. Getting into the pirate base business might be quite lucrative after Sin 4 is gone, but that isn’t me, sitting on a dirt ball all day long. I acted for associates of mine, who offered me a nice sum to be the middleman so they may remain anonymous.”
He rubbed his masked chin. “Very smart, I guess you pulled that either for the Worm or perhaps the Dai who always wanted a planetary base.” He raised his hands. “None of my business, anyhow. All I want is to hear if you are still going to take part at our conference at Itheamh.”
“I am game, but I wait no more than 48 hours, then I take off, as I am tired of sitting on planets. Your associate has his engines fixed by then, I assume?”
“If not, I’ll leave with you and leave him and his junk boat behind.”
Har-Hi had told us how the other Dai had taken him to a bar and for a drink, only to find out that the drink was spiked with something and he was taken into the desert. The invisible gas had affected him but he was able to do the same mental exercises we used in our martial arts training to fight the effects. He didn’t tell the Worm that I was Eric Olafson and was able to keep the fact that we were Union a secret as well.
Cateria suggested that my body chemistry had changed ever since I was stung by the Wurlag beast, something the Narth Supreme had done to save my life. That explained why I was able to resist the drugs and the gas for so long, or survive the poison of a Stomper.
I went into my room, made my logbook entry, dictated a report, and activated my GalCom terminal. Elfi confirmed we were still able to receive and send. I placed a call to Admiral McElligott.
The old admiral appeared and he looked wet and wore a bathrobe. “You do have a talent of always calling at times when I am not presentable.” He used a towel to pat his face and added, “I know you would not call if it wasn’t urgent. So, go ahead.”
“I have an individual in custody we believe is the Purple Worm. Preliminary medical examination results support the claim that he is an Immortal, as the aging gene is completely missing and replaced by a complex gene craft that boosts the immune system, facilitates fast healing, and so forth. His DNA also confirms to be genuine Terran. My CMO also can confirm his age.”
This time, McElligott actually fell off his chair!
I saw his hand grab the edge of the desk and moments later, his eyes appeared as he looked into the visual sensors. “You have done what?”
Before I could repeat, he got up. “Hold that for a moment. I have to get Richard on the line and find me a drink. I still can’t believe what you just said!”
Moments later, the screen split three ways. Stahl stood on the bridge of the Devastator and Cherubim appeared to be standing on the crumbling spaceport surface of Sin 4. In the distance behind her, I could see several huge modular nanite factories and an army of robots swarming all over the plac
e carrying trash and waste, clearing rubble, and busting up the cracked surface.
Within the visual sensor pickup, I could see one of the tall Stik.
Stahl greeted me and so did Cherubim.
The masked woman said, “Good to hear from you.” She pointed at the scene behind her and continued, “Sin 4 is now called Wooorld. Yes, I said that with all the extra ‘O’ sounds; that is what they wanted. Wurgus engineers are on their way to fix that sun and, as you can see, Army Engineering Corps has already begun with the cleanup. It will take a few decades, but the two and more-legged trash has already been taken care of. There was a little resistance here and there, as marines are currently combing the extensive underground network, but nothing even worth mentioning.
“Nestor, aka your friend Fusionbeam. was named the Planet Governor and P-Rep by the Stik. They decided to rebuild a smaller, modern city, keeping the gambling and fight arenas alive, but legal, and the Sojonites are, of course, welcome to remain. It looks they will do just fine.”
Stahl crossed his arms. “Things at the Corridor have stabilized as well. The Shiss claim the attacks were made by an independent group of Shiss renegades and Dai pirates and they had nothing to do with it and wish to maintain peace and to maintain all borders just as they were. We did neutralize four Dai tribes; the rest had already turned back into Freespace before we arrived. Of course, this is a load of BS, but we don’t know what the Shiss are up to. They have done all this for a reason.”
McElligott interrupted, “Captain Olafson is supposed to give her report to you and not you to her!”
Stahl shrugged. “What could there be to report? I mean, she only left Sin 4 a week ago and landed on Alvor’s Cove.”
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 127
