Void Contract (Gigaparsec Book 1)

by Scott Rhine

  “I am deformed. Scorned by my own people. Why did you save me?”

  Not what he had been expecting. “As a doctor, I swore to preserve life.”

  “Why me, out of all my siblings.”

  Max’s mouth went dry. “You were the smallest, the only one who would fit in my pack.”

  “Tell me everything as you saw it.”

  Technically, the story was Union Top Secret, but she had a right to hear it. “On New Hawaii, I worked at the base hospital as an Emergency Medical Technician. I’d ride with the ambulances. Because of all the alien visitors for the convocation, the base made sure a lot of us had xeno first-aid expertise. One day, a detective requested backup for an armed robbery in progress at the embassy. Sending an ambulance along with the MPs is standard procedure.”

  The reddish female tilted her head. “How did your police know when our security detail did not?”

  Max wiped his face. “Some humans were afraid the judge would side with the Phibs, in which case, war was inevitable. Some of our politicians felt that for our survival we should steal as much technology from the other races as we could during the convocation. Our industries posted bounties on any alien tech gathered.”

  “This was nothing new.”

  “One robbery was different. Extremely well-funded, the crew had knockout gas formulated for Saurians and molecular-stream cutters for the break in. Someone had even fed them schedules and positions for the embassy guards. The detective was taken out soon after he called in the request. We had no idea what we were driving into. They had a psi scanner with a sonic rifle on the ice cream shop across the street.”

  “Ice cream?” asked Sanderjee. The word didn’t translate well to Banker.

  “A cold food for children. Like the embassy, the store was built along the beach. The remaining MPs were pinned down by the sniper, unable to move. However, my driver had stopped a little further back to be safe. Through the front door of the embassy lobby, we could see a man in a gas mask. He kept looking at his wristwatch and opening the door to peek at the beach out back. The unconscious embassy guards on the floor would be no help to us either. Then we hit on a plan. Since the psi sniper wouldn’t be able to see me. I could sneak up to the rooftop using the fire escape on the beach side.”

  The Turtle’s voice quavered at such a risk. “Very bold of you.”

  “If the thieves succeeded, even without harming a single Saurian, the diplomatic incident would set us back centuries. Other Union members would think we faked the charges against the Phibs in order to gain your tech. So I snuck back to the beach. That’s when I heard the engine. A large hover boat was circling just outside the warning buoys, the heavy-duty kind they use to haul other ships off a sandbar. It even had old tires hanging over the sides as a cushion. The thieves had an escape craft all lined up. Harbor patrol used boats, so the criminals could head into the swamp where no one could find them. On the shoreline, someone had shoved a fishing harpoon into the sand to hold up a life vest.”

  “The distress signal on the vest would temporarily deactivate the compound’s privacy screen, but our proximity mines would stop the boat,” Sanderjee insisted.

  “Well … they might kill everyone aboard, but they wouldn’t stop that much momentum. The hovercraft would still slide up on shore.” Max bit his lip. “Through the open gate to your compound, I saw something that didn’t make sense—several Phibs digging in the sand, dressed in sneak suits. They were … stacking Turtle eggs around the beacon.”

  “It was all a setup. The Phibs paid your own criminals to frame you for killing my clutch.” Blinking, Sanderjee asked, “If the Phibs were dressed in invisibility gear, how did you see them?”

  Max turned his head. “Please. There are only a few missions I have nightmares about. This is one of them.” After a decade, he finally managed to find Gina’s movie and forge his only positive association with New Hawaii. Even that I screwed up.

  Opening her robe, Sanderjee gestured to her shrunken side. One spot of skin was still lighter than the rest. “I have nightmares about this. If you are a friend to my people, tell me how it happened.”

  Removing his shirt, Max turned sideways. A hole of identical shape appeared on both his front and back. He said nothing as she lowered her nose to within centimeters of the injury.

  At last Sanderjee guessed, “We share a wound from the same weapon?”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t dodge better. It grazed the amniotic fluid and cracked the shell prematurely. I used medical tape to seal the crack.”

  “There are no apologies between us.” She leaned back. “But the wound is not what frightens you. How could you see them? My subjective age is twice yours. I can cope.”

  He breathed out. “The Phibs had been stupid enough to remove their helmets.”

  “Why?”

  “The monsters were eating the cracked eggs … and laughing.”

  Sanderjee began hyperventilating. “And you charged them? Made them pay for their abomination?”

  “I had no weapon. I needed help. A distraction. I told the MPs to fire teargas into the lobby next time the criminal there checked on the getaway boat.”

  She glared at him. “The gasmasks would keep the thieves from being harmed.”

  “But our gas would trigger the fire-suppression sprinklers, possibly waking the guards. It would certainly make a lot of noise. I crouched at the gate, and when the Phibs turned their heads, I sprinted in. I had to dive for cover and crawl the last few meters, but I reached your egg. All but one of the Phibs had gone into the embassy to deal with the mess the sprinklers had created, but it was too late. The beacon was flashing, and the unstoppable boat was on its way.” His heart raced just recalling that day. “I stuffed you into my pack, shifted the straps to carry you on my front, and ran. The only Phib wouldn’t dare shoot me with an inhuman weapon. I had a chance.”

  Max rubbed the wound on his abdomen. “The Phib ran me through … us through with the harpoon. He screamed louder than I did when he pulled that thing out. I never want to hear a sound like that again. He was going to keep stabbing me till I stopped moving. I hurt too much to stand. All I could do was curl around you and pray.”

  “The Saurian guard saved us? The MPs? Who?”

  Max looked her in the eye and smiled. “Would you believe Adams, the sniper I was sent to capture? He didn’t feel right watching a Phib murder a fellow Human in cold blood, even if it meant losing his cut of the robbery. When Adams found out the truth in jail, he was the first Human to volunteer for your multi-racial special-forces team. Even scum can have a gram or two of decency.” Adams had been the one to induct him onto the team. His operational name had been chosen from a US test pilot who had earned his astronaut wings posthumously. “Kachur was one of the first Saurians to recover. He hauled you and I clear of the beacon just before the boat impacted.” Kachur had watched over him so many times after that.

  “You pray well, Medusa.”

  After a long pause, Max asked, “Have I helped you, Beloved One?”

  Sanderjee gazed upward. “Our people learn society interaction through their clutchmates. I have tried my whole life to fit in. I studied to become a lawyer like my mother. I was second in my class, but still the jury stares at me or cringes. When my mother looks at me, she remembers her loss and failure to protect. I went back to school for my true joy—zoology.”

  “Is that why you were stationed here?”

  “In part, I chose this place in hopes of meeting you some day. I’ve been alone my whole life. Now I live on the planet of the alone and damaged.”

  Max pulled his shirt back down.

  She made an odd face. “I do not mean to offend. You were damaged saving me.”

  “You make Eden sound like a leper colony, but otherwise, I can’t say you’re wrong.”

  “This land has a certain savage beauty.”

  “You too have a beauty, Sanderjee. I was so worried you wouldn’t be able to walk or swim. I’m glad you can.�
��

  She jutted out her chin. “People think I started the war.”

  “No. Your survival gave it meaning.”

  The Turtle ambassador laid a hand on his. “You restore my faith in your race. Stay with me for a while. Join my staff.”

  Max shook his head. “I’ve been … compromised. Lunar intelligence surprised me. An oligarch operative interrogated me for three months on the journey. I told more than I should have.”

  “Torture?”

  “She pretended to be my … spouse. The torture happened after I learned the truth. In the sharing of myself, however limited, I related experiences which could allow them to draw inferences about your guards. My clearance should be revoked.”

  Sanderjee nodded slowly. “What will you do now? How can I help?”

  I intend to free a captive Magi by any means necessary, but you can’t be implicated in any wrongdoing. “Nothing but your continued friendship.” Considering, he added, “And your expertise in zoology. If I described a mammal, could you tell me the planet it came from?”

  “With a few days’ worth of research, I could find it by your celebration.”

  He described the situation with Jeeves as closely as possible.

  Chapter 21 – Conception Spaceport

  Commander Krannek greeted Max on his way out of the audience chamber. “The Beloved One is happier than I’ve ever seen her. Your medicine is strong.”

  Max shrugged. “She’s a good kid. I’m glad to see she turned out so well.”

  Krannek widened his eyes in surprise, which faded to amusement. “About your information request: do you plan on killing this fugitive?”

  “Not unless he’s responsible for the !Kung massacre last year.”

  “That was the Mbutu Cartel. Very bad people. We can’t intervene outside the embassy property unless we are invited to investigate a treaty violation, but we make a point of tracking organizations who carry guns. Vrilkesh has nothing to do with them.”

  Max placed a hand over his heart. “I only wish to speak with him in private. I’ve seen enough death to last a dozen lifetimes.”

  “Good. Vrilkesh has actually been an asset for us, feeding our clan information about criminal activity in Conception Bay. He just contacted us for information about a certain professional bounty hunter.”

  “Please arrange a meeting with him.” While Max waited, he took advantage of the embassy’s data sphere to search public records. According to its incorporation papers, the Mbutu Cartel was an organization formed for the purpose of economic stimulus among the natives. Unlike the Union-appointed governor, the head of the cartel was elected by members. The current leader was a forty-year-old ferry operator by the name of Peter Ooloombenga. The picture showed him with parallel scars etched on his face. As spaceport fees, licenses, and tourist trap taxes funded the local government, there were no income tax forms to examine.

  “His handler suggests a casual meeting on the beach or at a hotel bar,” said the commander. Hotel pools were out because Saurians were notoriously bad swimmers.

  “The police station is the only place I know where Bortral won’t follow.”

  Krannek nodded his tail. “Neither of you would dare bring weapons in there. Sounds safe.”

  While the commander wandered to the corner to speak over his radio, Max searched for information about McCool, the pilot. His picture resembled a derelict. Local law enforcement had investigated him for public intoxication, theft from customers, and in one case, dropping his load of live chickens from several meters in the air onto a parking lot. Hell no.

  Krannek turned to face Max again. “He can meet you in the bathroom. I shall send you a runner with the time. Where will you be?”

  “I’ll waste some time in the spaceport before heading to the trading post to buy gear. Where’s the Mbutu Cartel’s territory?”

  The commander walked Max toward the shuttle. “It begins about three days travel up the Kalanga River.”

  Max nodded, a plan forming. “By the way, the pilot of my shuttle is being unjustly punished. Chief Engineer Mendez risked her job trying to protect the Beloved One.”

  The shuttle looked like a fish skeleton without the cargo module.

  He waved farewell to his old life and the squad of soldiers as he climbed into the cockpit. While he clipped in, the entire squad saluted in unison.

  Roz seemed impressed. “That’s not something you see every day.”

  “It’s for you. I told them about your searching the pod for Sanderjee’s sake.”

  ****

  The flight to the spaceport was brief but scenic. The sprawl of colorful beach homes, boardwalk, and modern businesses reminded Max of a dozen quaint tourist ports for cruise ships. Beyond the main beach road, buildings faded rapidly into the jungle. Only the expensive hill houses stood out. “It’s grown so much.”

  “We have a decent trade relationship with Prairie,” Roz said, referring to the seventeenth colony, deep in Human space. “Some of their executives come here for vacation. I haven’t seen a biozone on this planet that isn’t breathtaking.”

  When they landed at the port, the trio passed through a very mild version of customs. The workers concluded each passport check with a cheerful, “Be sure to visit our duty-free shops.”

  Max smirked as several Goats mobbed them to offer luggage and caddy services. As he shook hands with them to learn their names, each successive Goat complained of more mouths to feed at home than the ones before. Goat workers often lived in slums near Human resorts and sent earnings back to their home world. This motley assortment had regular jobs at the golf course and spaceport.

  Even as Bortral chased them away with gruff language, the Goats cursed him back with fervent wishes that he develop droopy tail.

  To aggravate Bortral further, Max visited the tourist T-shirt, rum, and holo cube shops, gathering information about his home world from chatty clerks. Mentioning the Mbutu ended any conversation faster than a fart at a perfume counter. The only man brave enough to speak said, “They never hurt the tourists. This is a safe preserve.”

  Bortral couldn’t understand a word of English, but when the same result occurred with the third shop, he asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Feeling perverse, Max told his shadow, “They see you in a ship’s uniform and think you’re Yellow Slash security. No one wants to admit anything illegal.”

  “I look nothing like a Yellow Slash.”

  “Humans are stupid that way. They only see the clothes. Maybe if you had a more casual outfit.”

  Max managed to fit Bortral into a black track suit with blaze-orange stripes to blend in better.

  The McCool Tours desk had a price list hanging crooked and a contact link, but no secretary.

  As Max passed by the hair salon, he saw Roz talking with the sole beautician, a pert little woman with the nametag Ivy. This struck him as odd because Roz didn’t seem to wear makeup or do anything else girlie. Even on solid ground, she walked like a spacer in her heavy, magnetic ship boots, one foot always secure before detaching the other. Then the chief engineer pulled out tools and began disassembling one of the large drier units. When she finished, the unit whirred loudly like all the others. That demonstration of skill and civic kindness made up Max’s mind. She’s my pilot. I just need a way to contact her when the mission is done. As the Goats on his team normally made these sorts of arrangements, he had no training in how to proceed.

  He turned his back to the salon when Roz left a few moments later.

  “I need a haircut,” Max announced to his shadow. He cringed at the fifty-credit price tag, but a hairdresser would know all the gossip in this small town. The security cameras were too high-end, though, the sort Reuben liked to use for his surveillance.

  He sat in the chair and allowed Ivy to fuss around him. With her white, pixie haircut, there was something familiar about her. As she flirted shamelessly, he struggled to place her accent. He became convinced that this woman was a spy. Even while subtly pl
ying him for information, she watched everyone who came and went through the spaceport. She was too plump and curvy for someone from Laurelin, the low-g private world of Llewellyn Industries. Besides, their primary interests were medicine and terraforming. His next guess was Banker security. Otherwise, no one would get a business loan for frivolous tech on a world like this. The question is: does Roz know?

  When she held out the mirror for him to inspect the cut, her advances became increasingly direct until Max was forced to deflect. “My friend Reuben would be wild about you. You’re more his type.”

  “You’ve been in town an hour, and you already have a girlfriend?”

  “No, but I’m interested in someone I met on the station … someone shy,” Max ad-libbed. If she denies knowing Roz, the pilot is working for her. “Chief Engineer Mendez.”

  Ivy gave a genuine smile, clear to her eyes. “Roz?” Then she shifted to Mom role, arms crossed. “What are your intentions?”

  The two seemed to be friends, so he could get the pilot’s link address from her. “She seems like a quality person. I thought—”

  Bortral shuffled in at the worst moment. “You’ve found another woman already?”

  “Another?” Ivy asked.

  “Every leg of our journey, he had another female throwing herself at him. Even the pilot in our shuttle kept asking questions about him when he was at the embassy.”

  Shut up! Max tried to smile. “It wasn’t like that, really. Roz got a raw deal at work because of me. I wanted a chance to make it up to her.”

  Ivy took a business card from her display and wrote a private link address on the back.

  “You’re giving me her number?” Max asked, incredulous.

  “No. That’s my number. She stays at my place while she’s in port. Just to make things crystal clear, I’m going along on the first date to look after her. If you want to distract me, you can arrange a double date with that Reuben friend of yours.”

  Max opened his mouth to warn her about the Goat, but experience shut it again. Stop talking once you make the sale. He texted her his own link address.