Learning the Hard Way 3

by H. P. Caledon

  “What? Why?”

  “Because we’re being intercepted by them now!”

  Danny turned and ran out the door and into Keelan. “Move!” Danny continued to the cockpit with both Mike and Keelan on his heels. “We’re locked. We have no way of communicating with them or anyone else.”

  “Any ideas?” Keelan asked.

  “Yes, only I speak.” Danny ran to his room.

  Mike looked out the front, seeing the huge ship glide over them before lowering. Walls closed around them, entrapping them in the belly of the ship, and even through the fear and panic, Mike couldn’t stop admiring the genius behind the design.

  Keelan and Misery came to stand on either side of him to have a look before they moved to the common room. Danny came out fully dressed.

  “Let’s get to the ramp. And hide those damn badges!”

  They felt a bump in the ship—they had docked. They reached the ramp and waited for the pressure to equalize.

  “Open the ramp and remain calm. We are armed.”

  Mike reached for the computer next to the ramp but glanced at Danny. He nodded, so Mike plotted in the code and the ramp lowered. As promised, fifteen armed humans stood at the end of the ramp, all adorned with the Techno Raider tattoo around their necks. It had the same color as the ones Mike had seen on the screens when the Techno Chiromancers had worked, but was far from as big or complicated.

  Mike stepped back and glanced at Danny, whose face... shimmered?

  Danny held his arms out and stepped forward.

  “I am Mutshoree from Verion Four!” he shouted, and the shimmering Mike thought he’d seen solidified as an intricate tattoo covering all visible skin. The differences between the Techno Raiders’ tattoos and Danny’s were unmistakable.

  “Techno Chiromancer!” a man yelled. “Who do you travel with, why aren’t their symbols becoming visible?”

  “They are not marked, but they are my followers. I want to speak with Aclimes.”

  The armed men relaxed their postures, and one waved them down the ramp. Mike, Keelan, Misery, and Danny descended it, and a man suddenly pointed his weapon on Mike.

  “He’s a merc!”

  “Yes, and with me!” Danny shouted while Keelan moved to stand between the armed man and Mike. “And as a guest on your ship, I expect my ship and my cargo untouched when I return!” Danny stared hard at the man holding Mike at gunpoint.

  A man stepped forward and placed his hand on the raised gun, making the gunman lower it. “Please follow. Dear guests.”

  Danny pulled Mike to walk next to him as the four of them were led from the dock and through the huge ship.

  From what Mike had seen from before they were intercepted, the ship was as big as, if not bigger, than any Spec Edit and thus one of the biggest ever made. But where it was made, he had no idea, because he’d never seen a design like it. The supporting structure of the docking space was not visible. On every wall, floor, and ceiling he saw symbols—either etched in or rising from the surface. All symbols or signs had one thing in common though—there were no sharp edges or tool marks, and it didn’t look like the smooth transition was a result of time, since the symbols on the floor they walked on didn’t look more worn than the ones on the walls.

  As they entered the almost tubular halls, Mike got an opportunity to look closer at the structure, and he even stopped to run his hand over the wall when the urge to feel the symbols became too great.

  Danny grabbed his collar and dragged him along, but not quickly enough to keep one of the armed men from butting him with his gun to keep him moving. Danny sent Mike a pointed glare, and Mike managed to focus on where they were going. But it was difficult when on a ship that even the military, during Mike’s time as a private and a sergeant, had written off as a myth. And there he was, taking in details so organic in their appearance that he could scarcely wrap his mind around them. Among the details were what looked like roots or veins rising from the otherwise metallic looking surface.

  They were guided into an office, where an erikilien sat. Mike looked at the species, trying to remember what he’d learned in the military of the wrinkled species. It wasn’t much, but he knew they were far from the friendliest in the worlds—kept to themselves, mostly, and were particularly active in the slave trade.

  “A Techno Chiromancer?” Aclimes asked, looking up.

  “Aclimes, you may remember me from a deal six years ago,” Danny said.

  “Right, the youngest on Verion Four. A surprisingly good trap spotter. Unfortunately, your name escapes me.”

  “Mutshoree.”

  “Right.” Aclimes smiled and stood. He then turned his attention on the three armed men who had followed them into the office. “Their ship is not to be touched.”

  “That one is a lawman,” one said, and poked Mike with his gun.

  The friendly expression on Aclimes’ face vanished.

  “He’s with me. He sprung me from Irgang,” Danny said, and Mike swallowed around a growing lump.

  “That’s right, you were caught. And... Keelan Hunter?” Aclimes exclaimed, and Keelan flashed a toothy smile. Aclimes finally turned his attention on Misery, who just looked stubborn. “And who is this sweet little thing?”

  “My daughter!” Keelan growled.

  Aclimes looked up and grimaced. Species emotional feature responses one-oh-one... Mike remembered it as uneasy.

  “Please, take a seat,” Aclimes finally said and motioned for a table with twelve chairs around. “I love stories, and I am very eager to hear how a Techno Chiromancer, a lawman, and a dead mass murderer plus daughter end up on the same ship, never mind in my dock.”

  Danny motioned to the table, and the four of them took a seat on one side of the table while Aclimes went to stand by a chair on the other.

  “Where are my manners,” Aclimes muttered. “Would you like a beverage?”

  “Yes, please,” Danny said. Everyone else kept quiet. Aclimes ran his fingers over some of the signs on the wall. A silver slave came in shortly after and served coffee, juice, and some drink for Aclimes that didn’t look suitable for human consumption.

  “May I hear?” Aclimes asked and took a seat while the slave left the office.

  Danny leaned forward and pointed to Keelan. “I’ve known Keelan for many years. We’re both from Verion Four. Mike and Keelan met in Delta Zeich and have been friends since then. Keelan just never mentioned the Techno Chiromancers to Mike, so when Mike sprung Keelan from Irgang, where Keelan and I did time together, Keelan insisted they came back for me.”

  “And here I thought the mercenary honor depended on how much money was involved,” Aclimes said, chuckling gutturally.

  “Think you’re confusing us with bounty hunters,” Mike said.

  “Perhaps,” Aclimes said, nodding in thought before turning his attention to Misery. “And the daughter?”

  “Mom died, and Dad can be a bit hard to get a hold of sometimes.”

  “So the Verion Four group took her in,” Danny said.

  Mike once again tried to see through the species’ expression, but he hadn’t met enough or been schooled enough to know what skepticism looked like.

  “I understand. And you’re heading home?” Aclimes asked, sitting back with his drink.”

  “We are,” Danny said.

  “Would a deal be possible?”

  “Yes,” Danny exclaimed, smiling. “Do you know of a Chiromancer who would turn down a good deal?”

  “No, please, do tell, do tell. Do you have an idea?”

  Mike lost interest in trying to figure the species out because even Danny seemed to contradict the situation with his eagerness. Or maybe Mike just didn’t know as much as he thought.

  “I have a bunch of bounty hunters on my cute ass, and they could find the Verion Four group if we’re not careful. I have the profiles on all the badges, so I propose a deal. Let me call my group on equipment you lend me. We’ll set up and drain their accounts, splitting the loot sixty-for
ty, and you trade our ship, a military grade Hunter, for a ship in your docks.”

  “Ah... and the sixty goes to—?”

  “You, of course. I have to pay for the connection you provide from space, right?”

  Aclimes looked like he was running a bigger piece of math through his head. “What caliber is hunting you?”

  “That caliber,” Danny said, pointing at Keelan.

  “Ah,” Aclimes murmured, looking amused. “And a trap. If you develop a trap for us, then I will agree to the terms.”

  “What kind?”

  “We will hash out the details when there aren’t so many ears around us.” Aclimes nodded to Mike, Keelan, and Misery.

  Danny stood and held his hand out to the erikiliens, who took it, and what looked like a secret handshake commenced.

  Aclimes gave a satisfied sigh. “Let me show you to your rooms. Then you and I can talk more.” Aclimes got up and led them through the halls and a level down. There he stopped by a door. “Remember this combination.” He ran his finger in a pattern over some of the symbols in the wall, slowly enough for all to see. The door opened. “Your suite.”

  They all entered, looking around, and Mike would call it an apartment.

  “Wow,” Misery mumbled.

  “You only have access to basic voice commands here,” Aclimes said. “Please, feel at home.”

  A varanuide came in and looked them over, his eyes lingering on Misery a beat before he smiled. He then stepped aside and motioned for a female silver slave to step into the apartment. “Serve these guests.”

  “Yes, master.” She raised her gaze enough to be able to recognize their faces, but not enough to be misconceived as an attempt at eye contact.

  Mike made a spectacle of looking her over before he nodded with a satisfied smile—decorum he’d learned from growing up next to a pack of varanuides. Being presented with a silver slave to serve only them during their stay was only shown guests of honor and should be recognized as such.

  Clearly pleased, the varanuide nodded and left.

  “Please, settle in. I will just borrow Mutshoree for a short while.” Aclimes stepped aside, but before Danny made it more than a step toward the door, Keelan grabbed his upper arm and stared at him. Danny got that affectionate look in his eyes when he looked at Keelan.

  “It’s okay, Keelan.”

  “Oh, I must have missed this.” Aclimes smiled. “This... trust. Mutshoree is, of course, welcome to bring you if he feels the need.”

  “I don’t feel the need—we have a deal. But Keelan might feel the need.” Danny smiled at Keelan.

  Keelan growled and glanced at Mike. “You stay with her at all times,” Keelan whispered, winked at Misery, and left with Danny and Aclimes.

  “Why did he leave?” Misery asked.

  “You have noticed your dad doesn’t trust a lot of people, right?” Mike said, pulling her in for a hug. Misery seemed reluctant, and he hadn’t expected anything else, since he’d never hugged her. But right then it was to whisper for her not to say anything around the slave, as she could have been ordered to remember conversations and repeat them to the Techno Raiders.

  The slave wasn’t around at that moment, though, and Mike thought he heard her in the kitchen.

  * * * *

  Keelan did not like walking a ship where everybody carried at least as many weapons as he did. That he hadn’t been asked to disarm said something about the trust between the Techno Raiders and Chiromancers. Danny walked the ship without the insecurity he had in Irgang, and Keelan still hadn’t understood the extent of what his tattoos meant to the pirates, or what the markings on his skin meant in terms of protection. Until then, Keelan would make sure Danny wasn’t alone with any of them, because he’d figured out that his, Misery’s, and Mike’s safety was depended on Danny alone in their situation.

  But why hadn’t Aclimes asked them to disarm? Keelan wasn’t sure how to read the captain’s reasons, so he whispered his question to Danny.

  “Because it would be rude and give me a reason to doubt the honor of our deal, which makes us guests and not enemies,” Danny whispered back.

  “So all that squiggly,” Keelan said and pointed to Danny’s face. “Is that some kind of open invitation?”

  “No.” Danny laughed. “It just means I’m a member of the Techno Chiromancers. It means I can do things they can’t but need. The squiggles, as you call my nobtad vukmil futyrre, instill awe.”

  Awe was the right word for how some of the pirates looked at Danny when they passed him.

  “Your what?”

  “The tattoo is called a nobtad vukmil futyrre in the Chiromancer language.”

  “Which means?”

  “I have no idea. The majority of the language is dead and forgotten, but it’s what the program whispers every time it marks one of us. We think vukmil is a specific energy. Maybe the one living under our skin. When a Techno Chiromancer’s follower is marked, the machine only whispers vukmil, but with a Chiromancer it says the whole sentence. It also whispers about the energies present now.”

  “Okay. Why can’t I hear it?”

  Danny squeezed Keelan’s bicep. “Because you’re not a Techno Chiromancer, dear Keelan.”

  “Oh.”

  “I hear the machine all the time. I’ve heard it whisper to me since we got off the Hunter. It whispers nobtad vukmil futyrre which is me.” But Danny didn’t look like he was done.

  “And?”

  “Yeah, vukmil, which is them. But also, something I’ve never heard before.”

  “Like?”

  “It could be because it’s a different machine. Since the language is dead, it’s not easy to figure out, but this one says maplod vukmil axedal futyrre.”

  “Aha,” Keelan mumbled and opted to leave the subject alone, because he was not in the mood for a lecture in a dead language. Instead, he looked around the halls and felt like he was back in Irgang, though the many pictograms, dots, lines, and curves did have a more final and coherent feel to them than all the irregular markings that had adorned every surface in Irgang.

  They were taken into a huge room booming with techy stuff and several bare spots where only the squiggles of the ship were visible. Keelan had so far understood that they, or at least some of them, were buttons of a sort. But he had too little interest in how it worked to give it much thought.

  Aclimes called upon everyone’s attention—humans as well as the mostly different species. “We have a Techno Chiromancer as a guest. Please clear a space for him so that he may work in peace. The man next to him is to be left alone.”

  People got to it to see their captain’s order through. Minutes later, Danny had a spot with his back to a wall.

  “Grab a chair, Keelan.” Danny then nodded to Aclimes, who backed away.

  Keelan sat near Danny, whose fingers were already working across the keyboard.

  A masikill answered the call shortly after.

  “Hey, Mundurra,” Danny said, his smile looking almost relieved.

  The masikill Mundurra waved some dangerous looking fingers, and Keelan wondered how the species didn’t destroy everything around them, since their fingers were also known to be the strongest material in the known worlds. That the species was completely white, tall, and slender, made them easy to spot. But it was the first time Keelan had ever had the opportunity to look into one’s eyes long enough to notice that they had three almost horizontal pupils, stretching as lines across a white iris. He remembered having seen one with a purple eyeball, but he couldn’t remember when or where. Just that he’d literally run into one on Verion Four when he’d been running from Dorsey at the age of sixteen.

  “Where are you calling from?” Mundurra asked.

  “I’m visiting the Techno Raiders. I send greetings from the four on the border.”

  “Thank you.” Mundurra waved something to someone off screen.

  Keelan thought the white species looked scared for a second.

  “We need to secur
e the V four branch from bounty hunters, earn some creds, and eliminate some snot holes,” Danny said. “They’re too close for comfort. Forty to us, the rest we’ll figure out later, and I’ll be the connection from here.”

  “I’ll call in and set it up. Call you back in two hours.”

  “See you later.” The screen went blank, and Danny got up to wave Aclimes closer. “Should we look at that trap?”

  Aclimes waved another species closer, and they sat down. Keelan wasn’t sure if it was a scallentel or a zipokaria, because he didn’t remember the difference between the two even though there’d been many of them on Verion Four. Just not where he’d been hiding, since these species kept to themselves and didn’t like humans much. He did remember that the difference had something to do with the mouth and a fold in their neck in one species, and a low and hunched build on the other. Their skin was about the same color, which did not help him identify it. Whatever species it was, it glared at Keelan.

  “He’s not leaving,” Aclimes said, while Danny just looked stubborn.

  “Plus, I don’t get this techy language anyway. That’s not my reason for being here,” Keelan growled as he discreetly examined the species’ body to see if he could identify weak points in its anatomy. He saw the sneakiness in its evolution, because even through the tight fitted clothes he could see a ribcage that didn’t allow for a blade to penetrate. Even the neck was encased in something akin to ribs.

  The species finally made a gesture for them to continue.

  “We need a trap that can also track,” Aclimes said.

  “Several exist already. Anything we should add to?” Danny asked.

  “No, this one is to be able to avoid the kind of safety built into those other traps.”

  “Okay, thinking cap on... tracker,” Danny mumbled and seemed to disappear into his own little world.

  Aclimes and the species left, and Keelan kept quiet to not disturb Danny, who for the next two hours mumbled to himself and jotted things down. In the meantime, Keelan looked around the room from where he sat and tried to identify the different species.