Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7

by Vanessa Ravencroft

  “And now the Dai fight the Togar over it?”

  “We are not sure if all the Dai know about it, but once they do, we are certain open hostilities will follow. The queen is certain that all the Dai will eventually learn about it and discover the exact location. We are to hunt any Dai around the Shattered System. We are also to find the White Fur Demon. The queen herself has decreed that we search any pirate ships, slave traders, and slave markets for a white-furred Togar female. She is to be destroyed on sight.”

  His triangular nose started twitching quite violently, and his tongue became visible as it licked his chops.

  Cateria had returned with a big plate full of crisp bacon strips and placed it before the Togar. “The galley didn’t know what kind of bacon you prefer so they gave you a sample of all the kinds we had.”

  He really tried to be dignified and polite, restraining himself, but his nose and tongue had a mind of their own. It seemed to have the same effect it had on Jolaj. “Go right ahead, commander, I leave you to it, and I will have some suitable quarters arranged. Under guard and confined, of course, until we reach Kaliment, or we find a better solution.”

  He sighed, “Thank you.”

  I got up, and he put the first piece of bacon in his mouth and his non-Human beast-like face clearly showed bliss as he chewed. “This is the real treasure of your ship!”

  Before I had turned completely, he said, “I have nothing left. No home and I am doomed to die at the hands of my own kind, yet I found mercy aboard a ship of outlaws and pirates. I am now an outcast myself. Will you allow me a knife or perhaps a moment in one of your airlocks.”

  He paused as I turned back to face him, having a good idea what he was contemplating. I also saw the conflict in the magnificent cat being. He had been a loyal officer all his life, and I had to admit that this being would have been chosen to become a captain if he had been born on a Union world and made the decision to join the Fleet. He stood before the ruins of his life and had few options.

  “I will of course honor your wish if that is the only option you see, but as I said to another Togar not so long ago, death comes to us all, and there is no need to seek it out. Death is not a solution, just an end. Maybe you should wait with that terminal decision. There is always hope and the day may come when you can return to your home. If there is a revolution looming, it might happen and in turn change the conditions that prevent your return home now.”

  He stood there, despite him not being Human I was certain what went through his mind. He looked around and then back at me. “There are beings of all kind in your crew, even a Y’All and a Nul—”

  I sighed and sat back down. “Yes, commander, and there are many more and there might be room for a Togar, too. There are voices in me warning me, but I have more often than not disregarded them and acted on my instincts.” I sighed. “This is a very special ship indeed and we are on a strange journey to put it mildly, but there might be a place for you in my crew.”

  He made a growling sound. “Yes, this we share. I have not many alternatives, being a hunted fugitive without means, perhaps ending up on a Karthanian Smelter Moon. Short of suicide, asking you to accept me in your crew was indeed a glimmer of hope that grew in me. I do know little about what it means to be an outlaw, but an outcast I am. I have nowhere else to go.”

  His paw-like hands were trembling. “Captain Velvet, do you have room for a Togar among your crew?”

  “I can’t guarantee you’ll like it. Should you decide to accept my offer, you will not be able to return to Togar and your life will change forever.”

  “It already has. To the realm, I am already dead. I will follow you and accept you as my captain, but despite what you think about Togar, I am not a coldblooded killer and might not be able to commit all the crimes you are accused of committing. However, I will do any chores; nothing will be beneath me.”

  I undid the laces of my mask and removed it. “What you just said, Commander Roghor, is the reason I accept you as part of this crew. It also affirms that I can trust my instincts, at least most of the time.”

  His non-Human face clearly expressed surprise.

  Cateria’s stern face was again graced by a smile. “Mr. Roghor, welcome aboard the USS Tigershark and meet Captain Erica Olafson.”

  He inhaled sharply. “Union, you are Union! But the crimes, the slaves you buy. The many reports—”

  It was my turn to spread my arms and grin. “Well, not all reports are exactly true. I think I can trust you, commander. However, you understand that I must say this. We are Union and on a very secret mission. The mission and the ship come first and before I can fully integrate you, there will be training and vetting to make sure that you are indeed aware of all the details this decision entails.”

  “I understand, Captain Olafson. Perhaps the first step is to abandon calling me by my Togar rank. I am a commander no more.”

  “I have the distinct notion, Mr. Rohgar, you might regain that rank eventually, just perhaps not on Togar side.”

  Har-Hi stepped through the curtains, wearing his Union uniform. “I am the XO of this ship, Mr. Rohgar, and it became one of my duties to integrate new members. I assure you this happens more than one would think, especially aboard a ship that operates deep undercover.”

  “At least I was not involved this time,” SHIP chirped in.

  ***

  Back on the bridge, I asked Elfi, “How fast can we reach space where GalNet is possible?”

  “We will be able to pick up GalNet again near Itheamh.”

  “Anything in sensor range, Mr. Narth?”

  “No artificial contacts within sensor range.”

  “Mr. Ndebele, disregard our disguise-imposed limitations. You got your wish, go as fast as we can. We have very important news we need to convey.”

  Shaka responded with an enthusiastic, “Aye, captain. Our ETA of 2.7 days has reduced to 21 hours. That is safe cruising speed, captain.”

  Yeoman O’Connell came down the ramp from the back of the bridge carrying my monster cup. “Itheamh is no longer in Freespace, captain. No more loopholes or justifications necessary. No treaties with the Union exist or limit what we can or cannot do.”

  I smiled at her. “What do we know about Itheamh, anyway?”

  Sobody sat in the observer seat that was rarely used on Union ships but had become his station. He even had a console raised from its usual stowed-away position. Technically, he had no real bridge function but he was invaluable to me.

  He said, “l believe the Golden databanks are now accessible to Union Fleet information requests and there has been a Golden trading post for a very long time.”

  He shifted in his seat so he could address me more directly. “Itheamh is an independent planet, but very close to Karthanian space. It is, if you will, a gigantic junkyard, spaceship market, and repair place. It is also an outlet for Karthanian products, spare parts, and so on. Remember the scrap we bought on Sin 4?”

  “Yes, I do, don’t we still have some of it?”

  He nodded. “We do, and Itheamh is the place to sell it. It is the largest market for scrap outside of the Union. Every scavenger comes here and, of course, anyone who needs spare parts, repairs, or a completely new ship.”

  I frowned. “So another Sin 4, basically?”

  He shook his head. “No, captain, the planet is at a busy intersection of trans-galactic commerce. It is not far from Karthanian space, the Togar Empire is not far, and the seven Oghar kingdoms are also more or less nearby. It may surprise you, captain, but there are many civilizations here that never had any direct contact with the Union and are unknown to you.”

  Shea said, “Would that not exclude the Narth? You’ve been around longer than anyone.”

  Narth looked up from his display. “We Narth have not really explored space ever since we merged with the NNNTH, and that was over five galactic revolutions ago. Then we decided to isolate ourselves and our knowledge even of what is Union Space is quite limited. Narth
tend to watch stars, quasars, black holes and galaxies and have, until recently, not concerned ourselves with civilizations and societies. There are societies we did have limited interaction with, but those contacts are very sparse and never lasted.”

  Sobody seemed pleased that there was something he knew more about than Narth. He continued, “The Itheamh are officially a small independent society, but are closely associated with the Karthanians. While the Karthanians want to do business with everyone, they are extremely xenophobic, when it comes to giving outsiders access to their planets. The Itheamh and a few other small societies act as their markets. It is there where they sell their ships and tech and buy scrap and raw materials. Itheamh is perhaps the biggest spaceship junkyard with countless state-run breakdown operations, dismantling yards, and scrap processing places. There is always brisk freighter traffic coming and going. Many Kermac Thrall species do business with the Karthanians. So do the Shiss, Union corporations, and many independent civilizations.

  “Politically it is sort of a fascist-communistic society. The Drake rule the Itheamh with an iron fist; there are many more Itheamh than Drakes. Both the Itheamh and the Drake belong to the same race and share common ancestry. Both originated on the Third Planet of the system. The Itheamh settled the harsh Fourth Planet a few thousand years ago. The Drake fought a nuclear war on their home planet about 300 years ago, and the survivors of that war invaded the Fourth Planet, as their old world had become an inhospitable planet.”

  Sobody frowned. “The Drake have been oppressing the Itheamh ever since and the Karthanians support the Drake and thus guarantee cheap labor and an outlet for their wares and cement the Drake’s position as the rulers of Itheamh.”

  I mused about the information Sobody had given and said, “So that world isn’t lawless?”

  Sobody answered, “No, it’s quite an orderly society with enclaves of the Karthanian, the Togar, and a dozen other civilizations. As I said, we Golden maintain a small bazaar there as well, and there are business offices of many companies and corporations in a confined district, near their main spaceport. However, it is not Union Space and not as well regulated. There is no unified law enforcement past the system. That means pirates have free range as soon as they are beyond the reach of the local government. You must know that most civilizations do not have the excellent long-range scanner technology and none of them, as far as I know, have anything in terms of instantaneous communication. Even the existing communication networks rarely extend beyond the local systems, and everyone uses a slightly different technology.”

  Hans, who was sitting at his station grunted. “Making it easy for pirates. I sure prefer the orderly well-organized Union.”

  Har-Hi said, “While the Union in general barely knows about these civilizations, they usually do know about us. While you won’t see any Union Fleet ships in these parts, you can run into corporate ships of Union businesses such as SII, Enroe, Trigon Corp, and Ntugul-Ult, to name a few. Those who know about the Union usually envy us but many see us as a big bully and so there isn’t much love lost.”

  The Golden agreed and added, “We are near Karthanian space and Arkalon, their main world, about 122 light years from here, in the general direction of what you call Galactic North.”

  I said, “The Karthanians, are they friendly toward the Union?”

  Shea answered, “Of all their planets, only Arkalon is still in Freespace and that is why they are signatory to the Freespace Treaty and officially considered a neutral civilization.”

  Hans punched up a political map. “According to our intel reports, they are indeed neutral in terms of Shiss or Galactic Council. They do not like the Kermac and have little love for the Shiss as they don’t buy enough Karthanian ships, but there is also no love toward the Union either. They are renowned spaceship engineers and their entire society is based on that industry. There are 14 guilds that form a council chamber that is their government. Currently, the Guild of Hull Builders holds the chairman seat, which is something like a President. The position rotates every 11.5 years to another guild. They sell their products to anyone who can pay. Itheamh is one of four worlds where outsiders can go and buy Karthanian tech. The actual Karthanian worlds are taboo for any non-Karthanians and no outsider has ever set foot on one of their core worlds as far as our intel knows.”

  The Golden said, “As I mentioned, they are very good customers for scrap, spaceships, and components from all species and are very good at copying technology from others. They are not anywhere near Union tech standards but are catching up to Kermac tech very fast.”

  Shea interrupted, “The science council considers them a TL6-plus society. Meaning they achieved all criteria to be considered Tech Level Six and have begun to produce elements and tech considered TL7.”

  Sobody nodded in agreement. “The Karthanian Guilds and two private Karthanian companies maintain space docks and shipyards on and around Itheamh.”

  I said, “This is supposed to be a Karthanian ship and it doesn’t look too fresh on the outside. Would they not become suspicious if we don’t get any repairs done or buy supplies?”

  Sobody grinned. “One of the largest ship dealers and shipyard owners is a friend of mine and we can dock at his yard. Emerge later with a nice painted hull and no one is the wiser.”

  I looked at him and said, “You know we are undercover, right?”

  “Do you trust me, captain?”

  “Yes, I learned to trust you like I trust every one of my crew. I would not want to miss your advice, knowledge, and service and you know I revised my initial objection to you pretty much the day we met. I am just a bit nervous when it comes to adding strangers to the list who know about us.”

  The Golden said, “He will never know who we are. I will talk to him while he thinks I am at the bazaar. He has a GalNet terminal, and Elfi can make him think I am calling from there.”

  I nodded and changed the subject. “How are Union relations with the Karthanian?”

  Shea again answered, “They are neutral, as you know. Karthanian space is not very big and they don’t really expand. They do not accept other species inside their social structure or to settle or live within their society. They do business with all. Piracy and any drug deals are prohibited inside their sphere of control. They do use and buy lots of slaves, usually destined to work on one of their so-called Smelter Moons, but most of their slaves come from within their own society. They do not like the Union much, as they are jealous of our far superior technology. In their opinion, the Union is the largest and wealthiest of the great powers and should do more business with them. Karthanian ships, flyers, tanks, and other tech items are available on Union markets and they buy raw materials and ore and, of course, non-classified technology from Union sources. Union credits are readily accepted, by the way. All in all, they are a stable and solid society and there is little chance we can convince them to join the Union.”

  I coughed and said, “I am not planning to invite everyone we meet to join Union.”

  Sobody chuckled. “Well, so far, everyone you met either died or joined.”

  Har-Hi laughed. “He’s got a point there.”

  Elfi said, “All the regular comm channels are abuzz with the news that the Nul and Terra are no longer enemies.”

  The Gray Prince, still sitting by Elfi taking notes and following her instructions, said, “Since my father now has access to a GalNet terminal, I was able to talk to him a few times. He is deeply impressed by the Terrans and the efficiency of the Union. Not really surprising is that many Nul are excited about a trustworthy ally and partner and that I was saved by Humans made big waves. Officially, I am preparing to become the first Nul Fleet officer. My father thinks the possibility of the Nul joining the Union is quite real, and he feels it will happen long before I become king. Trade agreements and joint defense pacts are already being worked on, but I personally think we will begin the PUMA process long before these pacts are worked out, making them moot.”

 
; I sighed and glanced at my fingernails. “Well, then, ruining a perfectly nice dress stopping that Stomper was not a total waste!”

  That caused them all to laugh and I said, “I would have never thought Nul-Nul could laugh or have a sense of humor.”

  He also turned his forward-facing seat to better talk with me. “Unlike Humans, we actually did bomb ourselves eight times back to the Stone Age before the first Gray of all was able to unite all Nul under one rule. That is why we have been around as long as the Saresii but haven’t been able to develop a real advanced civilization.

  “We had to rebuild and reinvent many times so it took us much longer than other species to finally become a united people and remain a spacefaring civilization. That first Gray ruler achieved this by killing all his rivals and prohibiting the slaughter of scientists and artists whenever a warrior felt like doing so. He also allowed Nul to laugh openly and in public.”

  Shea said, “He allowed you to laugh?”

  He closed his big eye twice, which was the Nul way of agreeing. “It was considered a crime punishable by death to show any form of emotion in public. Life Givers killed their young for crying or laughing before the reign of the First Gray. It still does not come as easily to Nul as it comes to Humans, but we are improving.”

  I said, “I think there is much we have to learn from each other.”

  He held up his big hand-like appendages. “Can you imagine how long it took us to build a computer that wasn’t the size of a house with hands like that? Our tech is still crude compared to Union tech, but what we make we managed to make very durable!”

  I looked at his enormous fingers and said, “Now that you mention it, I can only imagine.”

  He said, “There is this old Nul story about an angry Purple Nul going to a computronics merchant complaining that his new machine did not work no matter how hard he was hitting it.” The image of that was actually quite funny, and we laughed again.

  Hans said, “We Saturnians have the same problem. We can’t manipulate small items.”