by Musser, Dale
“So now, Tibby, you have seen the inside of the beast and its children, so to speak. Tell me, what do you think?”
“Well, I would like to know where all these service tunnels go and where they come out, and also the locations where you have placed bugs on this ship. Oh, and one more thing… how does your personal cloaking device work?”
A’Lappe laughed. “So you figured out I have a personal cloaking device. Very good. How did you figure that out?”
“When you disappeared from my office, I heard a distinct swishing sound of your clothing as you moved across the room. I wasn’t all together sure of it, until I heard the exact same sound as your clothing rubbed together while you led me down the tunnels earlier.”
“Hmm, maybe I need to work on a sound dampening feature. Here, this is the device.” He handed me a small box-shaped mechanism that he removed from his belt. On the box was a button. “Push the toggle button and you are cloaked; push it again and you are visible. It only works for a maximum of approximately twenty minutes before it runs out of power. I’m still working out the glitches. I hope to improve its functionality to sustain cloaking for an hour.”
“Do you have any idea how great this will be for the Federation? It would be useful for not only for the FSO, but the Special Operations units as well.”
“Yes, I’m aware of its potential; but I planned to withhold the technology until I had it perfected.” I held out the small box to return it to A’Lappe, but he said, “No, you keep it. You may need it at some point. Besides, I’m working on a more advanced model; and at this point I no longer need to hide, now, do I?” He smiled and blinked one of his hypnotic blinks.
“Let me ask you one question, A’Lappe. When you blink in that way, is it intended to have a mesmerizing and calming effect or is it just a natural phenomenon?”
A’Lappe grinned and blinked, “That, my friend, is something you will have to figure out for yourself. Now come, let me show you more of the service tunnels and where they lead.”
As I followed A’Lappe, I noted that he had a strange but not unpleasant smell, which somewhat reminded me of a tree we had on Earth called a cedar. The scent was not as strong as that of a cedar, but it was faintly reminiscent. It was an aroma that I was to identify with A’Lappe from then on, though I would never learn whether it was a natural smell, something he wore as a fragrance, or something in his diet that produced the smell. Whatever the source, it was not offensive; but then nothing about A’Lappe was offensive. I found myself wondering why anyone would be trying to kill him.
“A’Lappe, why did Galetils have his ship down here in this secret area instead of up in the main hangar bay with the other ships?”
“He wanted this craft to be relatively unknown so he could use it as an emergency craft in the event that he needed to get away. From the exterior of the yacht this hangar is undetectable unless it’s open. Anyone trying to trap him on this ship from outside would be watching for an escape through the main hangar. This area cannot be seen from any position around the yacht where the main hangar can be observed. He would have been allowed to slip out and accelerate out of range before an aggressor had an opportunity to target him.”
“I noted that the ship is built to accommodate three, but there are only two sleeping areas.”
“Yes. Galetils and his companion planned to share the main cabin.”
“Companion? I wasn’t aware he had a companion.”
“Yes. She died on Astamagota when the flare hit. Galetils was devastated by her death.”
“Is that why he committed suicide?” I asked.
“Suicide?! Is that what they told you – that he committed suicide?” A’Lappe exclaimed.
“Why, yes,” I said. “Isn’t that how he died?”
“I think it was meant to look like a suicide; but I think he died trying to protect me. Though, to be honest, I don’t know for sure. He may have committed suicide; but knowing the man the way I did, that scenario seems most unlikely to me. I am more inclined to believe he was murdered.”
“Murdered?! But why? Who? What motive would they have?” I asked.
“Ha, motives are abundant,” A’Lappe said with a tone of gravity in his voice that I had not heard before now. “Word had leaked out about his intent to develop the 10X fusion reactor and, of course, in the absence of solbidyum, his reactor would have been the next best power source. The Bunemnites and several non-aligned planets had approached Galetils with some rather aggressive undertones, trying to pressure him into selling the reactors to them exclusively. When I say pressure, I mean that he was presented with numerous graphic threats as to what the consequences would be if he chose to not cooperate with them – not that it scared him any. He intended to have the first reactor installed on this yacht, along with a fully functional RMFF. As far as he knew, no one else knew about the RMFF we had installed here. But that doesn’t mean the other systems are not aware of RMFF technology or that they had not thought about using the 10X for their own ships in conjunction with RMFF defenses. RMFF technology has been understood for years, but no one has had the power to operate one – until now.”
“So you’re saying Galetils was killed by someone who was trying to steal the 10X plans?”
“I’m saying I don’t buy the suicide explanation,” A’Lappe said with a blink, “but as to what actually happened, I can’t say.”
“The third seat and smaller sleeping compartment on the shuttle,” I said, “those were meant for you?”
A’Lappe paused a moment in our journey and turned toward me. “Yes,” he said, “they were.”
“Galetils intended to take you with him if he ever had to escape. He must have believed that the rest of the crew would be safe and that only the three of you were in potential danger. Am I right?”
“He didn’t know for sure. Personally, I don’t believe I would have been in danger, but he wasn’t sure.”
“He must have thought very highly of you to go to this measure,” I said.
A’Lappe seemed to be holding his breath, finally giving into his grief as he covered his eyes with his hands and sobbed openly. “He was my closest and dearest friend. There is nothing he would not have done for me. His death is a more tragic loss than you can imagine. I do not believe my friend committed suicide, but I cannot prove that he didn’t.”
A’Lappe took a deep breath and tried to regain his composure. “Galetils had enemies. His enemies are the same as those faced by the Federation – the aggressors of non-aligned worlds, pirates and mercenaries and, of course, the Brotherhood. Just days before he was – before he died, he met with the FOI to warn them that the Brotherhood was trying to coerce him into turning over the 10X fusion reactor design and that the Brotherhood had offered him a senior position in their ranks, if he would agree to join them and hand over the plans. He told the FOI that his response to the Brotherhood was that he needed time to think about the offer – time he used to approach the FOI to divulge what he knew. Three days later he was dead.”
“Does Regeny know this?” I asked.
“I don’t believe so. As far as I know, no one outside the FOI ever learned of Galetils’ visit to their office. But, as you and the admiral now know, the FOI was – and is – corrupt, or at least heavily compromised with the infiltration of Brotherhood agents; and I think that’s why he is dead.”
“I see. Thank you for telling me, A’Lappe. This certainly justifies my belief in the need for the FSO. I only hope we can get it operating soon enough to be effective.”
“I may be able to give you some help there. There is an agent in the FOI that Galetils believed he could trust. Unfortunately, this person is not who he met with on Megelleon. This trusted agent is on Plosaxen; Galetils never got a chance to meet with him.”
“Why did Galetils believe he could trust him?”
“Because he is Galetils’ brother,” replied A’Lappe.
When I returned to the main deck, confirming that Galetils’ brother was
an active FOI agent was not a problem. Though there was no trans-solar-system internet, there was a rather effective system of updateable data cubes. Anyone could acquire a data cube and system interface for a small cost. By inserting the cube into an interface receptacle, the cube would be updated with the latest out-system data for the local solar system. In the case of the military, security codes allowed the interface to update the cube with the latest classified and non-classified government and military data that had reached that particular solar system. In this case, no special updating steps were required, as Admiral Regeny’s cube automatically received new postings on a daily basis; so when his staff conducted a data search, they quickly found that Galetils’ brother was indeed an FOI agent on Plosaxen.
“This could work to our advantage,” I suggested to Admiral Regeny. “If we can speak with Galetils’ brother and get him to spy within the FOI for us, it could put us ahead of the game – especially if he is able to direct us to other key individuals that he knows to be loyal to the Federation. Most likely he can, which will allow us to more quickly establish a network and method to weed out the rogue agents sooner than we originally planned.”
“I hope so, but we will have to tread carefully,” cautioned the admiral. “While I do have some say as to what goes on in the FOI, my power is limited. The FOI is headed by Garfreed Aliquatee; and he answers directly to the Senate and first leaders. Within the Federation itself his position is about equal to my own; and while I can make requests for service from the FOI and expect results, I cannot appear to circumvent Garfreed in any way.”
“What do you know of Garfreed’s loyalties?” I asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve met him and dealt with him on a professional level, but never more than that. He’s always presented himself very professionally and has never given me any difficulty or appeared to be anything but cooperative; but there haven’t been any interagency issues to date that have dealt with the Brotherhood; and I have never questioned or had a reason to verify the information he has provided me. For all I know, he could be a highly placed Brotherhood operative himself. I can’t order him to have a loyalty test – only the Senate could do that; but it would take years to get them to agree to it.”
“What about the first leaders… could a consensus from two of them order it?”
“Yes, if we can demonstrate a legitimate and desperate need for it; but right now, without more proof of threats than we currently have, I don’t see them issuing such an order.”
After meeting with the admiral I met with Commander Wabussie. We had a long discussion about the FSO and the scope of his role in the leadership of the group’s training and clandestine activities. A matrix had been prepared that listed the recruits by name along with their particular skill sets and their scored performance in each skill area. Those who had fared poorly on the survival test but had demonstrated stronger proficiency and aptitude in other areas were placed in administrative or technical support functions. Of the 150 Federation recruits provided by the admiral and the ten Nibarians we had acquired with the help of Senator Tonclin we were able to identify 103 that qualified as potential field operatives – a number slightly higher than I originally anticipated. Those that would be moving forward with additional preparations for specific field assignments were sent to Marranalis for more physical training along with the Special Ops troopers, while Wabussie and I worked on placement and organization of specialized training for administrative and technical support functions that applied to the remaining recruits.
When I finished with Wabussie, I decided to seek out Kerabac. I knew that he was off duty and I had a special personal project I was hoping he would accept. Using my wrist com I was able to locate him in his suite and he invited me to join him there.
Kerabac’s accommodations were tastefully decorated in what I can only describe as a style reminiscent of the Art Deco style that existed on Earth. Scone lighting was abundant and provided the bulk of the lighting. Elegant arrangements of statuaries and potted ferns and palm-type plants accented the decor. The floor looked like polished black marble, while the walls were a very light shade of green. There was a sunken living room, a lavish dining room and a fantastic kitchen that supported Piesew’s comments about Kerabac’s talents as a chef.
“Tibby, I’m honored that you’ve come to visit me. Please come in and have a seat. Would you care for something to eat or drink? I have some delicious Magarian shellfish marinated in Ivevashe brandy, if you would care to try them.”
“I was going to say no; but come to think of it, I haven’t eaten so far today and I always enjoy trying new foods… so I’ll accept your offer.”
“What would you like to drink?” he asked. “I’ve heard that you enjoy afex. Would you care for one?”
“Oh, gosh,” I said, “I’m afraid this is becoming an embarrassment to Kala. As I understand it, afex is not something I should be favoring in my – well – my role in the Federation.”
Kerabac laughed. “Tibby, I think you are exempt from all the rules. Whether you know it or not, you are already having an impact on the Federation culture and many consider it vogue to emulate your fashions and tastes. Your casual shirts are already being copied by many of the crew when off duty, and since you have made your preference for afex known, more people are ordering and drinking it publically than ever before. And your dances have become all the rage in the entertainment lounge, I might add.
“Excuse me one moment, I’ll be right back.” Kerabac retreated to the kitchen and returned shortly with a glass of afex and a plate of something that resembled an Earth dish called escargot. There was a small cup of dipping sauce in the middle and a small silver pick used to extract the creatures from their shells. He retreated again to the kitchen and returned a moment later with a plate and a glass of afex for himself.
“So, Tibby, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?” he asked with his usual warm grin.
“I have a very special request of you… and I hope you will accept the challenge.”
“I will certainly try.”
“On Earth there was a very famous and beloved singer named Nat King Cole, who lived a few generations before my time. Your voice is remarkably like his. He was my mother’s favorite singer. She had recordings of all his songs, which she played nearly every day; so I pretty much grew up listening to his music. I was wondering… if I were to sing a few of his tunes to you and provide you with the lyrics, would you be able to learn them on your instrument and sing the melodies? I would like to surprise Kala one evening. It would mean very much to me to hear you sing them and to dance to them with Kala.”
Kerabac’s eyes twinkled. “Tibby, I would be delighted to do it. I’m sure I will be able to reproduce these songs, unless your singing is so bad that I can’t identify a note.”
“Well, I won’t ever win any singing contests, but I can carry a tune. I will certainly never come close to your singing talents.”
“Hmm, we’ll see. One never knows what one can do until one tries,” Kerabac said with his million-dollar smile.
“These – what did you call them…Mugorian shellfish? – they’re delicious, Kerabac, truly delicious.”
“Close, Tibby. Magarian shellfish… and thank you. I’m pleased that you’re enjoying them. They have always been a favorite snack food of mine, but until I began working for you, I could not afford them very often.”
I decided on a few of my favorite Cole songs; but I found that translating the lyrics into Federation language within the context of the melodies was not as easy as I had anticipated. However, by applying a bit of creative license and some slight modifications, we managed to achieve something close enough to preserve the meaning of the songs. I was amazed at how quickly Kerabac was able to take to the tune and play it on his keyboard instrument, which he said was called a Judaras Sound Machine. I was especially surprised that he was able to match the musical sounds of Earth instruments so well when all he had to go by was my simplist
ic descriptions and the sound of my voice as I mimicked qualities of the instrument sounds.
“How do you know how to duplicate the musical sounds of Earth so well?” I asked.
“I don’t know really,” he answered. “It just seems like this is how it should sound and anything else would be wrong.”
“Well I have to tell you, you nailed it perfectly.”
“Thank you for teaching me these wonderful tunes. When do you plan to bring Kala by the lounge for her surprise?”
“Tonight, I think – if nothing comes along to interrupt our plans, that is.”
“Great. I should have these songs well memorized by then.”
My wrist com started beeping just as Kerabac finished. I answered to hear the recorded voice of Captain Stonbersa saying that I should come to the bridge immediately. No sooner did I end the call than Kerabac’s wrist com also beeped with the same message. The two of us headed to the bridge immediately, only to be met en route by the admiral and one of his aides.
“What the hell’s going on!?” the admiral asked.
“I have no idea, Admiral. I just got the call to go to the bridge moments ago.”
Just then I saw Kala rounding a corner ahead of us, also heading for the bridge. We all arrived at the same time and entered to find Stonbersa and another crew member at a vid screen.
“What’s going on?” Admiral Regeny demanded.
“We just came into range of the Rabanu communication beacon and picked up a message from the Enpowor System. Apparently, when the message of the Brotherhood rebellion and seizure of the DUSTEN reached the system, the Brotherhood members of the frigate TECCION revolted and took over the ship. They left the ship’s loyal crew members at the abandoned relay station on the moon of Nasgoria with enough supplies to last them a month. Not long after that, word apparently reached the mutineers that the DUSTEN had been reclaimed by the Federation, causing them to go into hiding while the star ships URANGA and CACHATORA searched for them. Now reports are arriving that the Federation freighter MOOGAWOE was intercepted by the TECCION and that the crew of the TECCION believed that the MOOGAWOE was carrying the TRITYTE and the solbidyum. Of course, they found no ship aboard and no solbidyum; so their next move was to eject the freighter crew in escape pods over the planet Koobs and commandeer the MOOGAWOE. The two ships left the system together and are now believed to be hiding in the asteroid cluster near the Zanoid Nebula.”
