Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7

by Vanessa Ravencroft

  Brthail, the Karthanian, wore a dark-red pantsuit-like garment with golden seams and extended both his spidery fingers that began where Humans had their elbow.

  “Thank you for honoring me with a visit, Captain Velvet. Please make yourself comfortable while I set the ambiance.”

  I wondered what he meant, but we sat down on three cari-form chairs he had grouped before his kidney-shaped floating glass desk. One of his spidery fingers touched a lighted sensor, and it changed from red to green and then he said, “I just activated a Union tech privacy field; it ensures that we can talk uninhibited.”

  Narth said in my mind, “Sobody is correct; he is trustworthy and does not know who we really are. As he is about to explain why he feels this is necessary, let him do that.”

  Sobody pulled back his hood and said, “I am sorry for deceiving you, old friend. I am not on the Bazaar, I am right here, and I would not miss the opportunity to see you in person and introduce you to very dear friends of mine.”

  The bony rigid head of the Karthanian somehow managed to show surprise, and I had no idea how I managed to see that. He came around his desk, wrapped his long fingers around the Golden, and said, “It is so good to see you; it is over 19 years now since we last met in person.”

  Then he said to us, “Anything you need, name it, and I will attempt to get it. I owe this Golden my life, and I’ve never had the chance to do anything for him.”

  I said, “It would be good if you keep the fact that the Great Merchant travels with us a secret.”

  The Karthanian said, “I spent 18 long years on a Smelter Moon, and I learned how to keep my mouth shut the hard way. I would rather die than divulge anything that is said in here to anyone. Besides, I am psi-shielded.”

  Har-Hi gestured around the room. “If this is your place, why the security field?”

  The Karthanian went to a Serv-Matic. I noticed it, too, was a Union model and said, “I do not know what Humans drink, but this machine is of Union origin and has several refreshment options stored. I am sure you might like one of them. I personally can’t get enough of a liquid substance called Coke; it is better than any Karthanian Slobber and is so stimulating, too.”

  I asked for a Coke and Har-Hi for water. Narth abstained.

  While he served the drinks, he answered Har-Hi’s question. “Because the guild has ears everywhere. Almost 30 years ago, I openly criticized the Chamber and ended up as a slave on a Smelter Moon. Technically, this is a free world and not Karthanian, but our main world is not far from here, and they don’t like that I run a shipyard that is not controlled by the Chamber.”

  He dipped his long black tongue into his Coke and I said, “I know very little of the inner politics of the Karthanian, but I have heard of the Smelter Moons. Since I am here, I am curious how you managed to build a business like this.”

  The Karthanian said, “I will tell you, and since you have Sobody’s trust, I will trust you, too. What you asked of me, I would like to ask of you. What I tell you must not leave this room as not only my life but the lives of many depend on that.”

  “I give you my word.”

  The owner of the shipyard gestured toward the Golden. “Eighteen years ago, he and a delegation of Golden Merchants were part of a grand tour. The Chamber, knowing of their far-reaching connections and high level of technology, hoped to improve relations with the Golden. As they toured the Smelter Moon, he witnessed me being beaten for stealing an extra portion of Slobber. He talked to me in an unobserved moment and smuggled me, disguised in a Golden Guard uniform, into his ship. It was Sobody who financed this space dock. The Chamber and its agents suspect that I am an escaped slave; they do not know that Fantlemo Brthail is Grtonner Icylemh. However, if they ever find out, they will try to silence me forever as I know too many secrets. They fear that I will use my knowledge to unite the opposition and sweep that corrupt Chamber clean. Unfortunately, we can’t unite without the First Engineer being awake.”

  His voice had changed and gained a hard edge as he finished his explanation.

  Sobody sighed. “I wish we could help you, but from what I hear, the Chamber rules the Karthanian masses with an iron fist.”

  The Karthanian put down his glass. “Yes, and they have to send more and more to the Smelter Moons. They have even begun to sell Karthanian citizens into slavery to other civilizations, just to silence the voices that demand changes. Right now, there is not much that can be done, but there is hope. One day someone will manage to infiltrate the Chamber tower and wake the First Engineer. That is the day their spell will be broken and the Karthanian people will be free again.”

  He made a sweeping gesture. “Enough of me and this sad story of my people; you are pirates and have little interest or use for such information, but I saw you fly a Karthanian Norgat Class Armed Freighter. It is a good class and solid design, but it is old. I have a brand new Romther Class with much better armor and eight dedicated weapon turrets. It is fast, has good engines, and my engineers could transfer those magnificent ISAH pods you have. Professionally installed, much better than they appear to be installed right now on your current ship. Of course, the ship would be a gift.”

  I looked to Narth and he nodded. I said, “This is a generous offer and any pirate would be a fool to say no, but we must decline. We will, however, make substantial repairs and improvements to our ship while we can use the dock facilities, but we are not just pirates. We are representatives of a certain association on a very secretive mission and your insight and information about the Karthanian situation is of interest to us.”

  He got up and opened a wooden cabinet, revealing a GalNet terminal. “This came with the last supply ship from the Bazaar. I am a Union Citizen, as I am a naturalized member of the Golden. I already planned to take a trip to the Bazaar, take the citizen class, and get my CITI. One day, I am going to take a trip on these mysterious, marvelous space trains I hear you have and visit the bridge and perhaps even the Andromeda Galaxy.”

  His voice had an almost dreamy tone. “We are a race of engineers, you know, and there isn’t a Karthanian who doesn’t openly or secretly admire that engineering feat. To build a string of space stations to reach another galaxy; the Galaxy has not seen such an achievement.”

  He closed the cabinet and said, “For now, I remain here to be the eyes and the ears of the Golden and in extension for the Union, but perhaps and even in my lifetime, the Chamber of the Guilds will be cleansed and a Karthanian will take his seat among the Representatives of the Assembly.”

  Har-Hi coughed into his fist and gave me a warning look as if to say, ‘This is not our business.’

  Sobody said, “Do you know anything about the Red Dragon and the Sinister Alliance? They are supposed to have a base around these parts.”

  The Karthanian sat back down. “Officially, they call themselves a Free Trader Association, and they don’t use the term pirate, of course. They want to stay on good terms with us on this world as they all need parts and ships, but I have heard they use the old ghost town on the Third Planet as a base of operations. The Third Planet used to be the home of a sentient species that bombed itself into oblivion, and most of the surface is still radioactive wasteland, but there is a city on the northern continent that is free of radiation. I think that is the secret base.

  “That Red Dragon you talk about has a personal connection to the Lord Mechanic of the Hull Builder Guild and traded some Union technology secrets for supplies and repairs.”

  ***

  I was still thinking about that meeting with the Karthanian as I sat at the table in our Den and had dinner the next day.

  Har-Hi took a plate and sat next to me. He forked himself several slices of roast beef on an open bun, gave me a side look, and said, “If I see you stare at your food that way, I would almost suspect you are contemplating doing something about that Karthanian situation.”

  I pushed a pea around with my fork. “Of course not, there is nothing we can do anyway. We are about to go on
a trip to find some long lost Seenian Depot and end the reign of the Red Dragon at the same time. Besides, even if we had the time, we know nothing about that situation or any details. If done at all, that would be a job for a Ghost Recon Marine Unit and only after months of careful planning. Not that we have any business sticking our nose into Karthanian internal politics in the first place.”

  He added onions to his sandwich. “I am glad you think that way, as it is exactly the point. It is not our business; it is not Union business. You heard the Bone Face, it will eventually happen anyway. Totalitarian governments suppressing their people with force never last forever. We should concentrate on what we are going to do about the Sinister Alliance and their base first and then finding that Seenian depot. Remember what trouble we had defeating a little one-man ship? Imagine the Red Dragon having the use of a Devastator-like ship filled with Seenian robots. It would not be good for anyone else finding that depot either.”

  I pushed the plate away. “I don’t even like peas, I wonder why I put them on my plate.”

  Then I said, “No worries. I was just thinking, that’s all. I just don’t like an unfair situation. There aren’t just Karthanians working those smelters, you know. I have been in those slave pens and heard that the Karthanians buy Human slaves for that purpose as well.”

  Har-Hi bit with gusto in his sandwich. “I don’t like the Shiss sending Dai to do their dirty work, and I would love to find out what Cam Elf Na really plans, but there isn’t anything I can do either. Besides, if you don’t like peas then eat a roast beef sandwich, it is delicious. I just discovered something called mayonnaise and it makes a sandwich even better.”

  There was no sense in me mulling over that anymore and I said with a grin, “I can tell! You’ve got the stuff all over your face and a big glob of it on your armor.”

  Mao joined us while Har-Hi used a napkin to clean himself. He, too, helped himself of the roast beef and started to fabricate something that looked more like a tower than a sandwich. While he added slices of cheese, he said, “Captain, I was thinking about that Red Dragon. Why don’t we simply capture the guy, do a brain dump, and be done with it?”

  Narth, who had silently appeared, watched Mao piling up things on his sandwich.

  Narth had a plate float to him while several slices of the meat zipped through the air and placed themselves on a bread bun that split itself in the middle.

  While he was doing all that, he answered Mao’s question for me. “Now that his Seenian suit interference is gone, I was able to probe a little into his mind. He was a Union admiral and has a good psionic shield like they all do. All Union officers of captain rank and higher are conditioned against mind dumps. I also noticed he has an effective hypnotic block, reinforced by a Kermac psi-enhancer that even prevents him from knowing the location until certain trigger events happen, so even the most effective interrogation method would yield no results. Even if I were to break and undo this block, the device would have enough time to erase that hidden knowledge before I could get to it.

  “The Kermac are primitive about most aspects of psionics, but they have built a society on fear and mistrust and developed very complex methods to shield and hide knowledge and thoughts, mostly to be protected from the probing minds of their Thought Police.”

  Mao pressed with all his strength down on the sandwich, compacting and reducing its size into a barely manageable size and sighed. “It was just an idea.”

  I said, “I never was conditioned against mind dumps.”

  Narth turned to face me. “Captain, no force known to Narth could make you reveal any information you do not want to reveal. We also shared the Hugavh; you are connected to me and all that is Narth, including the Narth Supreme. Besides, I think you did receive some sort of conditioning at Perry Station. You do have Red-Red-Blue clearance after all.”

  As he mentioned it, I remembered and said, “If I was almost like you, I could do all those neat things you can, like making a sandwich without touching anything.”

  He sounded amused. “I am touching it, just not with my hands, and you could do all these things as well, but you do not stick to the training exercises I have given you. Your abilities are dormant and that is a good thing. Releasing them uneducated could be fatal to you and your surroundings. Alice is a good example for that and with all her strength she is but a spark compared to a sun once you realize your true power.”

  “I don’t think so. My HPI index is below 50 and that is just as well. I got used to that psionic stuff somewhat, but my opinion about it hasn’t really changed. I don’t like it all that much and if I have it, I am glad it is switched off.”

  The sandwich Narth made started to disappear in small segments, and I could see him chewing underneath his hood. “One agrees with Har-Hi. Mayonnaise is very good.”

  To me, he said in his silent mental way, “Your stubborn refusal to accept that you do have psionic abilities does not alter the fact and besides, your Heidelberg Psi Index was last measured when you entered the Academy. You have shared the Hugavh with me and you are already able to sense the moods and feelings of beings alien to you. I do not believe your HPI is still 50, but knowing you, I am sure you won’t go to our CMO and be retested.”

  He knew me better than I knew myself, because deep down, I was afraid of what I would release if I tried, so the longer I could keep whatever it was suppressed, the better.

  Narth returned his attention to Mao and added to his explanation. “The Red Dragon, however, has no intentions to share it with us or anyone. He needs us and the others to get there and that is when our usefulness to him ends. This comes from Mehedi’s deductions, not psionic probing, but I agree.”

  Seeing my friends eat, I got hungry after all. “I was certain he would think that way, just using my gut instinct.”

  Har-Hi took another bite and his cleaning efforts were made obsolete as another dollop of mayo dropped on his harness. “Looks like we have to follow him halfway across the Galaxy after all.”

  ***

  The tavern was located at the outskirts of a big, busy metropolis of a starfaring society on the surface of that cold and dry planet. The atmosphere was breathable but so dry it felt as if we were breathing invisible sandpaper. The Karthanian ship dealer had gifted us with two Karthanian shuttle craft similar to a D20. We had used one to get down to the planet.

  Har-Hi and I had left the ship to attend the meeting the Red Dragon had invited us to. The building consisted of only one big guest room with a vaulted ceiling and several sturdy wooden tables and benches. A bar with stacked barrels on one side gave the whole place a very rustic and primitive atmosphere, reminding me of a Nilfeheim tavern.

  In the center of the guest room was a big round table with 12 chairs. Ten were occupied.

  I recognized the Red Dragon, Sodex, Meateater, and the Puup, Captain Brathering. The other Oghar at the table was Crimson Curse, who we had met on Brhama Port. The brown and black-striped Togar was most likely Carrhrh. I had heard of him in a briefing but the rest were strangers to me.

  Red Dragon got up and pointed me to an empty chair. “Everyone, this is Captain Black Velvet.”

  To me, he said, “This table is for captains only; your first mate can, of course, sit with the others of our crews if he wants.”

  A Human man with a rugged face, lantern jaw, long black hair and a scar from over his left eye to his right cheek got up, pulled the chair out for me, and bowed. His left eye looked metallic underneath his scarred eyelids. “What a pleasure to finally meet you, Captain Velvet. I have heard so much about you. I am Alsun Sandovahl, captain of the Killerbeast.”

  I sat down and he helped me pull the chair in and then he sat down. Har-Hi placed himself right behind me with crossed arms and his best sinister stoic facial expression. If he was not supposed to stand there, no one dared to tell him.

  The man who introduced himself as Sandovahl took his seat to my left and the big Oghar, Crimson Curse, sat to my right.

  H
e actually gave me a brief nod of recognition. Just as I had taken my seat, a Yellow Throat Shiss came in and took the last remaining seat.

  An Oghar waiter came around and took orders. I declined and looked around. I noticed two women other than me were part of this meeting. One of them was Human, and she had her hair dyed in a bright purple color and tied in a ponytail. A five-pointed, star-shaped golden face painting or a tattoo covered her left temple and much of her cheek.

  She wore a white ruffled blouse that covered an almost flat chest.

  The other woman was completely bald and had the paper-white skin of a Kermac, but her sharp pointed teeth and the fine-scaled texture of her skin pointed toward Shiss heritage. She appeared to embrace her lizard origin and wore a tight suit made of the scaled skin of a snake or lizard that shimmered in rainbow colors when she moved, but appeared black if she remained still.

  Red Dragon banged the butt of his blaster on the table surface and said, “I wished I could have convinced a few more to take part in this extraordinary opportunity, but you rough-as-they-come, experienced freelancers, cut-throats, and renders should be more than enough to face down any danger or opposition we might encounter on our journey.

  “Since not all of you know everyone in this circle, let me begin with introducing everyone, beginning with Captain Meateater to my right. He is going to be the second-in-command of our convoy. While I hope we all will be able to trust each other at the end of this journey, it is he I trust the most for now. He is an Oghar and commands the Intruder. The Togar next to him is Captain Carrhrh and his ship is the Celestial Nightmare.