by Karl Morgan
Wendo noticed Dave was missing and hurried over to him. He grabbed Dave’s arm and pulled it. “Dave, we’ve got to go now,” Wendo said. He pulled harder but Dave did not budge. “Dave, for the love of God, let’s go.” Dave relented and walked away from the crate, glancing back one time. The creature was still looking at him.
“Wendo, what was that animal?” Dave asked. “It looked sentient to me, was it?”
“Dave, we cannot talk about that here,” Wendo demanded. “When we are safe on your ship again, I will come to your ready room and tell you about the Zula. Please don’t say anything more now. This is like the invisible people, only worse.”
They caught up to the group and Dave grabbed Darlene’s hand. She looked at him and knew at once something was wrong. “Tell me, Dave. What’s wrong?” she asked. Dave said nothing, but squeezed her hand tightly.
Mulwi was discussing the tonnage of seafood that leaves Lagamar Vol each day and the treacherous conditions the fishermen live with. He showed pictures of some of the oddest creatures that were sold here. Dave hardly heard the words. He turned back and the crate of Zula was gone. Tears started to pool in his eyes and he fought them back. Darlene could see the battle in his face and placed her head against his shoulder. Mulwi and the others talked about how the sea accounted for forty percent of the revenue of the planet and how their success relied on the partnership with the Nan. Hearing that word again, Dave looked back and saw many Nan rushing around the floor, pushing crates and boxes toward the waiting containers. Dave heard a tone in his ear and tapped the com-link. “Yes, Avery, what’s up?”
“Admiral, the other shuttle has arrived,” he replied. “A team of Nan has loaded some crates on board under orders from Bola Deka. I’ve exchanged control keys with Lieutenant Aldo, and she is ready to ferry our guests back to Nightsky.”
“We’ll be there soon, Avery, and thank you. Brewster out,” Dave said as he closed the connection. Darlene had slipped out of his hand and was thanking the hosts for the wonderful adventure. Dave joined her and thanked them heartily, although his mind was still full of thoughts about the Zula.
“Thanks again to all of you for visiting,” Bola said. “Admiral Brewster will be traveling with me for a while this evening on another shuttle. Commander Adamsen will make certain he gets to the ship safely. Come along, Dave.”
“What’s all this, Dave?” Darlene asked. “You’re not coming with us now?”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Dave said. “This is all part of Wendo’s master plan. Don’t worry, Avery and I will be fine.” He kissed her on the lips. “The two shuttles are next to each other. Let’s go.” The group walked back through the auction room. Dave looked at the spot where the Zula had been sitting. A large tray of fresh fish replaced that crate. Ten men of various races were standing around the tray arguing about the price. When they reached the shuttles, Dave kissed Darlene again and wished everyone a safe trip back. Wendo smiled and waved.
Dave and Bola climbed on board the shuttle where Avery and five Nan were already strapped in for the ride. Several large crates were secured in the bay. Dave strapped himself into the seat next to Avery. The shuttle lifted off and started to climb rapidly.
“Hold on there a minute, Avery,” Bola said. “We need to take a short detour and drop off some precious cargo. Just head due east about one hundred miles out to sea.”
“Is this necessary, Bola?” Dave asked.
“Just trust me on this one, Dave,” she smiled.
“Okay, Avery, take us out to sea,” Dave replied and the shuttle moved eastward. It took fifteen minutes to get a hundred miles out to sea. The shuttle slowed and hovered a thousand feet over the calm ocean.
“Avery, take us down to no more than five feet off the water,” Bola said. “Don’t worry, the sea is calm tonight.” Avery looked at Dave, who shrugged and the shuttle slipped downward. Within a few minutes, the shuttle hovered a few feet above the sea, which was unusually calm this far from the coast.
“Come on, Dave, I want you to see this,” Bola said as she and several Nan unbuckled themselves and moved back into the crates. One of the crates was covered with a large brown tarp. One of the Nan pulled the tarp off, revealing the two Zula swimming in the crate of water.
“Oh, my God,” Dave said. “They’re safe. You’re going to let them go?”
“Of course, Admiral,” Bola laughed. “This is what we do, when we can.” She told the Nan to prepare the crate. They worked on the bolts that held it together. Water began to leak onto the deck of the shuttle.
“Avery, open the cargo door,” Dave shouted. As the doors began to open, he saw the two Zula looking at him. Their eyes blinked and seemed to smile at him. Suddenly, the side of the crate opened and the water and Zula rushed out of the door and into the ocean. The Zula stuck their tails in the air and seemed to be waving goodbye. A lump formed in Dave’s throat as the cargo doors closed. “I don’t understand, Bola. What just happened here?”
“Come on Dave, let’s go strap in now,” she replied. “We’re going to be late getting to Lagamar 7 due to this detour. But I’ll tell you on the way.”
The shuttle shot up into the sky and shuddered slightly as it left the atmosphere and entered open space. Dave could see the Nightsky and Manila far in the distance and hoped everyone had arrived safely. His com-link chirped and he touched it. “I was just thinking about you, sweetheart,” he said, recognizing Darlene’s signal.
“Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” she asked. “You looked like you were going to fall apart there in the auction house.”
“It’s okay now. Everything turned out well,” he replied. “I’ll be there before too long. I love you.”
“I love you too, Dave. Nightsky out,” Darlene said.
“Okay, Dave, let’s talk about the Zula,” Bola said. “First of all, I want you to know that we would never hunt them ourselves. But Earth Prime requires us to offer all products from our planets. We’ve tried to fight it, but some of the Councilors have acquired a taste for them.”
“They seemed to be sentient to me, Bola. Could that be true?” Dave asked.
“Yes, they are very intelligent and we know it,” she replied. “But we cannot fight the High Council. We are only Vol and Nan here. Our votes mean nothing to them.”
“So the High Council wants to eat sentient creatures,” Dave winced. “That seems very barbaric.”
“It is, but we are a poor people, made poorer by the Zula,” she said. “By law, we must offer all foods from this planet. We try to limit our catch of Zula. But every few weeks, we have to catch some to avoid scrutiny from Earth Prime. Most of the time, no one buys them because they are very expensive. Once in a while, someone buys one. Then we take most of the profit we have earned and use it to buy the poor creature back, like tonight. However, there are times when we cannot buy it back. Usually that happens when the top chefs from Earth Prime want to cook Zula for the High Council. Then our hands are tied. We are all horrified when that happens.”
“Tell the whole story, Bola,” one of the Nan said. “Admiral, you have been so good to us, but the Zula situation is our fault. It brings great shame on all Nan.”
“Whatever do you mean? And please call me Dave,” he said.
“Thank you, Dave, and my name is Ilu. The Zula are native to Nan, our home planet,” Ilu said. “We share our world with them and they are our friends. We would no more eat one of them than our own brothers. The Zula bring us great luck and good fortune. The Vol have been our best friends for many generations. We wanted to share our luck with them and brought a few Zula to this planet. We could protect them on Nan because no one wants to go there. We have taken them from a safe place and turned them into a delicacy.”
“How many Zula live on Lagamar Vol?” Dave asked.
“Around five hundred, I believe,” Ilu answered. “That is the number that comes to me when I see them. That is how they communicate with us.”
“Avery, when we get back to the ship, I’d like you
and Jon Lake to work on a solution to this problem,” Dave said.
“Aye-aye Admiral,” he smiled. “My mind has been working on that since this conversation started. By the way, Lagamar 7 is dead ahead and we’re closing fast.” Dave could see the large planet growing quickly through the main window. A dense set of rings circled high above and several moons orbited silently. The Kong-Fa was far away and appeared as a dot above the planet.
“Avery, there is a platform at twenty-six degrees north latitude and fifty-five degrees west longitude at three hundred thousand feet,” Bola said. “We can land there. We have some pressurized buildings there, but will need our pressure suits to get there.”
“Aye-aye, Bola,” Avery said. “The platform is sending me their coordinates and I’ll lay in a course. We should land in less than ten minutes.”
“Your shuttles are a lot faster than ours,” Bola laughed. “It takes us hours to get here, and we do this several times a week.”
“Admiral, the Kong-Fa is signaling us,” Avery advised.
“Send my regards to Fa-a-Di and De-o-Nu,” Dave replied. “Tell them I can’t talk now but will brief them both tomorrow.”
The shuttle was buffeted by the strong wings as it sank lower into the atmosphere. Avery moved around the highest wind areas and the large platform loomed ahead of them. The shuttle approached the platform and settled onto the deck next to two other shuttles. Everyone donned pressure suits and checked each other’s readings. Confident they were correct, the cargo doors opened and the Nan quickly began removing the crates and pushing them toward an open storage building. Several others rushed from the building and helped with the goods as Dave and Bola entered the antechamber of a large building. The air was quickly changed to a breathable mix and the inner door opened to reveal a hallway. Bola led them down fifty feet to an open door. Inside were an Opa and a man of a race Dave had not yet encountered.
Chapter 36
“Bola, you’re early,” General Mali Nook of Lagamar Opa said. “It’s good to see you again too, Admiral Brewster. Dave, let me introduce you to Minister Vee Ondi of Lagamar Ulu.” Dave had never seen an Ulu before. Vee was very thin but muscular. He was about Dave’s height with extremely white skin, almond shaped silver-blue eyes and red hair. Everyone shook hands and took seats at the large table. The two Nan poured hot coffee for everyone and placed trays of snacks on the table.
“We’re heading out to the ward now,” one of the Nan said.
“Okay, Ola,” Bola said. “We’ll meet you there soon.” The two Nan left and closed the door after them. She waited a moment to make certain the Nan were out of earshot. “What do you think you’re doing Mali? Dumping slag on Lagamar 7 again! Are you insane?”
“Calm down, Bola,” Mali begged. “It’s not like it seems. We were trapped by the Brotherhood. We had no choice. Please try to understand.”
“The Brotherhood is on Lagamar Opa?” Bola asked. “When did this happen? Who tipped them off?”
“What’s going on here?” Dave asked. “What is the Brotherhood?”
“Where in the galaxy did you come from, Dave?” Vee asked. “You don’t know what the Brotherhood is?”
“Calm down, Vee,” Bola said. “Dave Brewster came with Wendo Balak and Antar Arrak from the Ulagong galaxy. He’s a descendant of the Earth 47 colony.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!” Vee said. “Welcome to our little galaxy of fun, Dave. The Brotherhood is an arm of the High Council that insures we comply with all rules.”
“They’re spies, Dave,” Bola replied. “The High Council has become so convinced that regions are about to declare independence that they created the Brotherhood. They were recruited from our intelligence agencies that used to spy on other civilizations. Now they are looking inside the Society for behavior that might signify pending revolution.”
“And now Balak and Arrak have brought them on us,” Mali complained. “That’s why they came to Lagamar Opa. I’m sure there are agents crawling all over your planets too! We didn’t want to dump slag here, but the Brotherhood agents confronted us when they found evidence of dumping at old strip mines.”
“Can we just hold on for a minute or two,” Dave said. “There’s someone else who really needs to hear this.” They stared at Dave as though they couldn’t believe their ears. “I promise you this is very important.”
“Well, Dave, you did help us save the Zula,” Bola said. “I think we can give you a few minutes.” The others just looked down. Clearly, Bola led this group.
Dave tapped his com-link, and said, “Avery, please get a hold of Jake and ask him to get Fa-a-Di and jump him to these coordinates. He can tell the general that this is a big favor for me. He’ll need to bring a breather. Also, ask him to stoop over when they jump. The ceiling is high here, but I don’t know if it’s high enough.”
“Aye-aye, Admiral,” Avery replied.
Dave sat with the others and sipped his coffee. “My brother, Fa-a-Di should be here any minute.” He took a cookie and bit it. “These are great.”
Mali was squirming in his chair. “We don’t have all night, Bola. If the Brotherhood finds out we’re here together, we’ll all be in big trouble.” He stood. “Maybe I’ll take a walk, this is driving me crazy.”
Without any sound, Fa-a-Di suddenly appeared in the room. Jake was clinging to his chest. Mali fell back into his chair and the others flinched at the surprise. No human in this galaxy had ever seen anything like the fifteen foot tall winged Gallicean. As usual, Fa-a-Di was wearing his black battle armor. The golden handles of his three daggers glistened in the harsh light. “Hello, brother,” he said. “It is good to see you in person again. I suppose you brought me here to tell me which of these three people are dumping on this planet.”
Vee pointed to Mali, saying, “That would be him.”
“That is your brother?” Bola said with disbelief. “He’s is mighty big for a human.”
Fa-a-Di laughed out loud. “Your friends are hilarious, Dave. Now tell me, why am I here?”
Mali told them about the visit of the Brotherhood. Groups of their agents visited each planet every few years, looking for signs of unrest and conspiracy. They had been discovered on Lagamar Opa a week ago. There are no Opa or Nan in the Brotherhood, and finding other races sneaking around was not difficult. Society law requires the Opa to dispose of waste materials off the planet, so that other cultures to move there later would not find a polluted mess. Even though Lagamar Opa was the richest planet in the system, they had no money to acquire a freighter able to send the slag into the sun or a garbage planet in another system. An edict from the High Council required the Opa to dump their waste on Lagamar 7 until they could afford a better method.
Orlo and Aon did not agree with the order. Lagamar Opa had many exhausted mine sites that sat as empty pits or abandoned deep mines. They ordered their people to dump the slag there. They had to keep a wary eye on everyone foreign to the planet because anyone of them might turn them in to the Council. Someone apparently did. The Brotherhood agents arrived and went immediately to the site currently being used. The planet was fined six months of profits and ordered to use Lagamar 7 for their dump site or face imprisonment far from their planets. The previous day, Brotherhood agents traveled with the freighter crews to Lagamar 7 and supervised the dumping.
“This is really horrible, Dave,” Fa-a-Di said. He faced the others. “I owe you an apology, friends. After seeing the results of the dumping, I told Dave I was ready to kill whoever was responsible. When I saw Mali here, the blood ran cold in my body. Now I understand it was not you, but the High Council and the Brotherhood who caused this. My race evolved on planets like Lagamar 7. I am High Commissioner of Greater Gallia, a civilization with many such worlds. But what can we do to end this madness?”
“We have another problem, brother,” Dave said. “But I think we may have solutions for both, if I can get more help from you.”
“Dave, you know that you do not need to ask,” Fa-a-Di smi
led. “Just tell me what to do.”
“Boys, we’re not done here yet,” Bola said. “Dave, I’m going to trust you on finding solutions. But arguing is not what we do here. We need to put our pressure suits back on to leave this building. General, you probably just need to take off your breather when we go outside.”
After donning their suits, the group moved across the platform toward the largest building. They opened the large doors and proceeded inside. They were in a vast room with lines of cages on both sides. Inside the cages were different animals from Lagamar 7. Most were bandaged and asleep.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Fa-a-Di asked. “Is this some kind of zoo?”
“Don’t be silly, General,” Bola said. “This is a hospital. The ones in cages are too injured to fly on their own. Once they can fly, we move them to the open ward. We don’t want an injured Boley falling to its death off the platform.”
“What is a Boley?” Dave asked.
Bola stopped and walked to the cage on her right. “Here’s one now, Dave, and he’s awake.” At first glance, the creature looked a lot like a Gallicean, although it was only five feet tall. It lay quietly on the floor and stared at the people outside the cage. A heavy layer of bandages covered its chest and stomach area. It tried to back further into the cage until it saw Fa-a-Di approach. It turned its head from side to side wondering where this giant Boley had come from. Fa-a-Di saw the beast looking right at him, and instinctively he stood very tall and outstretched his wings. Then he bowed his head. The Boley climbed to its feet and approached the bars. It stood very straight and tried extending its wings too, but squealed in pain and fell down again.
Jake flew off Fa-a-Di and landed on the bars, looking at the Boley. Jake turned his head from side to side and looked very confused. He glowed red and the Boley moved backward. He glowed blue and the Boley approached him.
“What are you doing, Jake?” Dave asked.
“This is crazy, Dave,” Jake replied, “but I’m talking to this Boley. He says his name is Fanon and wants to know who the giant is. I told him he was General Fa-a-Di, and he asked me if the General would allow him to touch his hand.”
