The Return: The Conglomerate Trilogy (Volume 1)

by William S Frisbee Jr

  “The Topa appear to be cutting us a lot of slack,” Luke said. “Especially with license enforcement and review.”

  “The Topa pay very well in credits and supplies. Your droids, for instance, are exceptional. The Topa don’t give those to anyone for payment. I have a Topa built one as an assistant, but it isn’t the level of Gray, or Nelson, or even Musashi. I think the Topa need impartial mercenaries and you are one of their favorites.”

  Luke nodded. He did not like to think about the ramifications, which required face time with Musashi and time in the healing pool afterwards. There were many things not to like. It was only the mission keeping him focused, aware, and planning. Otherwise there was too much time to think, and thinking led to dreams, memories and nightmares.

  “Spend more time with your droid,” Luke said. “It will develop a personality and learn.”

  Brita nodded and Luke wondered how much of a person’s personality rubbed off on their droids, and what Nelson, Gray and Musashi said about him.

  “Well,” Brita said standing up. “I think I’ll grab a late dinner and hit the rack.”

  “Have a good night,” Luke said turning to stare at the displays.

  Luke could feel Brita watching him for several seconds and then she turned away.

  “You too sir,” she said and Luke felt the ‘sir’ like a barb in his back.

  Minutes later the two droids came back in.

  “Dumb ass,” Gray said. “You think we left the two of you alone so you could just talk?”

  Nelson remained silent and Luke glanced over to check Nelson for damage. There did not appear to be any, but he stood there staring at Luke, his arms behind his back.

  “What?” Luke said, and Nelson cocked on eyebrow. “Shut the hell up assholes.”

  Gray shrugged and looked at Nelson. “It was worth a try.”

  “Another Marine cock-up,” Nelson said.

  “Shut up squidbert,” Gray said without malice.

  “You first jarhead,” Nelson replied.

  Nelson nodded to Luke and returned to his station.

  “You never said how you wanted to deploy through the wormhole,” Nelson said, back to business.

  “Like we are entering hostile space,” Luke said. “Just don’t be the first to fire. As usual maintain a high level of alertness. I want to suck the public data nodes dry as soon as we hit the system. I want to know as much as we can about Bizzen. You are authorized to pay up to fifteen thousand credits for up-to-date information on Bizzen and our target area. Also see if anything out of the ordinary has occurred.”

  “This is a busy, alien system. I will need to call on Gray and his officers to help sift through the data. Would you care to define ‘out of the ordinary’ sir?” Nelson asked.

  Luke scowled at Nelson. “Fine. Use your best judgment but I want as much info as we can get before we land. I don’t trust the Topa. With my luck, they are playing a joke on me.”

  “Aye sir,” Nelson said, turning to his console.

  “Any preferences on battle droid programming?” Gray asked.

  “One company for space assault, the other companies configured for ground combat,” Luke said. “At least until we know more. Keep the specialists on standby.”

  “Aye sir,” Gray said.

  “You should have asked her to join you for dinner,” Nelson said. “I think that was the appropriate response. Remember it for next time. As a subordinate, she cannot ask you to dinner, or make the first move. It would be inappropriate and she is a professional.”

  Luke rolled his eyes. “You suck Nelson.”

  Nelson and Gray smiled.

  “Who better to teach you standard mating habits than a sexless but incredibly intelligent droid?” Nelson said and Luke gave him the finger.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Bizzen

  “We are pulling down more data,” Nelson said. “It could take a while. We will arrive at Bizzen tonight.”

  “Getting some more information on our meeting point,” Nelson said. “Looks to be in a neutral zone, between some barons. A lawless area, full of ruins and such. I had to pay to get an old map, maybe fifty years old. Looks like our meeting point is an ancient warehouse on one of the lower levels. Belonged to a company that went out of business hundreds of years ago.”

  “What is the hurry?” Jeremy asked. “The Topa didn’t give you a time frame.”

  “I don’t know,” Luke said. “I don’t trust the Topa, and the fact they are so vague, my curiosity is piqued. He said we could show up whenever, but to some desolate lawless warehouse on a city world?”

  “No other information?” Amanda asked going through the data. “This is it?”

  “So far,” Nelson said as everyone pulled it up.

  “Anything could be there,” Luke said. Disappointed, but hoping a current business or owner would be listed. Some clue or indicator what a Soma was, and what kind of force he might need. He was supposed to find a Soma and train her. Could the Topa have been any more cryptic? Soma wasn’t even a local reference.

  Damn.

  “Shall I check with the data brokers now?” Nelson asked.

  “No,” Luke said. “I don’t want to be tripping over data broker scouts and we don’t have any reliable contacts here. The theory is there is no rush.”

  Luke gazed at the cloud-covered orb. Lightning storms covered part of the planet, and in other areas the cities below lit the clouds.

  In orbit around Bizzen were massive city stations spinning gently around the planet. Huge cargo haulers, unable to land below, maneuvered or docked with the space habitats. Some of the stations had orbital elevators and were stationary in orbit.

  Orbit around Bizzen was busy but Luke suspected a good part of the surface was busy as well. Countless Conglomerate citizens going about their business, living in their own little worlds doing their thing, like a well-functioning hive composed of numerous groups and people, all working together, but all thinking they are individuals.

  Something was there on the planet and Luke looked forward to the surprise, the mystery, and the danger. There would be danger of course. Topa Suresh had sent a warrior, not a diplomat or merchant.

  “You’re smiling,” Brita said and Luke realized he was.

  “It will be an experience I’m sure,” Luke said.

  “The adventure of a lifetime,” Jeremy said.

  “Fools have adventures,” Luke said without taking his eyes off the planet. “Professionals have experiences.”

  “Aye Commander,” Jeremy said without inflection and earning a glance from Luke.

  “Anything going on in the system?” Luke asked, deciding to ignore Jeremy’s response.

  “Some refugees were attacked several days ago,” Nelson said. “But the attackers got shot up by the patrol and fled. Beyond that? Nothing.”

  “Refugees coming or going?” Luke asked.

  “Apparently coming,” Nelson said. “Why they would want to come here is a mystery and there is no public data on it, just a foot note it occurred really. No other public details. The big event is a speeder bike race, a regional championship from several nearby systems. One of the local monarchies is going through an internal war over succession, another baron just passed a law about taxes and debt. More sentients will be forced into slavery, and several of the local barons are assembling a force to clean out a remote area so it can be leveled and rebuilt, but nothing involving our target area. Bizzen is a big planet with a large population.”

  Luke nodded. Sometimes it was pointless to figure out the intent of aliens. Everyone had different priorities and desires.

  “Well people,” Luke said taking his eyes off the planet. “We best get some sleep now. I want to land and investigate as soon as we get there. Nelson, wake me if you discover anything important about our target area.”

  “Aye, aye Commander,” Nelson said.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Felix

  Leonessa sat hugging her knees an
d staring at the trash-strewn room. Bebchuck was gone. Probably being cut up, eaten, tortured, or he was just dead. She had abandoned him. She wanted to stop the tears but at least one escaped and with her helmet on there was nothing she could do to further hide her shame. Marines did not leave their own behind. She should have led a charge, even if it had meant their death, it would have been better than the slow death they were facing now. Maybe she should resign her command? Put Burke in charge. She didn’t know how much longer she could last. Her people were dying in front of her. She couldn’t think of a plan or any way to save them, not when the natives had turned on them. They needed help, and she didn’t know where to go or what to do. What could she do? They had to do more than just survive to the next hour, the hours would run out.

  Water could be filtered but food? They didn’t have testing gear and they would have to take off their helmets to eat. They had two survival bubbles but no way to test food. If they could find something edible, maybe they could rotate people in and out of the bubbles to eat, but they couldn’t do anything while being pursued.

  Right now, they were hiding in desolate stygian corridors, an ancient office complex perhaps. There was nothing here except dust, ruined furniture and small, six-legged rats feeding on beetles and other bugs. The banana mushrooms also appeared to be everywhere. Their current camp seemed defensible with a route of retreat if the armored aliens found them, but it would only be temporary. They had been forced to retreat too many times for Leonessa to believe the enemy had stopped pursuing them.

  Leonessa stared at the unrecognizable and broken furniture around her. They were running out of options and running out of time to find solutions. She would lose more people unless she came up with something. She blinked, wishing she could wipe her eyes. Her mind kept wandering, and she found it impossible to focus. She should sleep but she couldn’t sleep without solutions. Maybe Burke would be a better leader. She needed sleep, she needed a shoulder to cry on, she needed a break.

  “Look out!” someone yelled.

  “Oh shit!” someone else cried out.

  Leonessa looked up to see a somewhat large six-legged rat thing zip around the corner and come at her. The teeth looked sharp and reflexively she punched it right in the face. She heard bone break, and with her other hand she grabbed it by the neck and slammed it into the wall she had been leaning against. Slamming it into the wall several times it stopped moving. The thing was about the size of a small puppy or large cat and the teeth look like they might penetrate the softer portion of her suit, like the fingers.

  She looked at the bloody carcass in her hands. Food maybe? The blood was red. How could they test it and make sure it was edible?

  “Uh, Captain?” Carmichael said nervously.

  Leonessa looked up and saw what had been chasing the rat thing. Large yellow eyes stared at her and then flickered to the corpse in her hand before coming back to look at her. She looked at the rest of the new creature. It had four legs, although the front paws looked like hands with the clawed stubby fingers bent so far back only the palm was on the ground. The rest of it was covered in black fur, marred by countless scars. Two ragged ears on top of the head aimed at Leonessa and the mouth was likely full of razor teeth. It was big enough it would come to her waist if she was standing. Sitting down she was looking up at it. It had stringy muscles and just looked fast, hungry and athletic. The body type was slim, like a cat, and there were sharp looking claws on its paws, but the face reminded her more of a wolf.

  Carmichael slowly raised her weapon, and the creature looked at her and the weapon then sat its rear end down. Now it didn’t look threatening. The creatures’s eyes flickered to the thing Leonessa had killed. There was no fear or hostility there.

  “Hold fire,” Leonessa said. Could it be intelligent? It looked nothing like the creatures that had tried to track them and had swarmed Bebchuck.

  Now she was curious. What was it? Why wasn’t it afraid, and why was it sitting there?

  She held out the rat, and the creature leaned forward sniffing at it. When it did not pull back, she held it out further.

  “Captain, do you think that is smart?” Carmichael said. Another crewman came up, his weapon ready. “It might bite your entire hand off.”

  Leonessa did not care. She leaned forward and so did the creature until its nose almost touched the rat. Opening her hand to let the rat drop, the creature caught it in its mouth before it hit the ground.

  Leonessa pulled back her hand and watched it as it lay down and ate.

  “Well shit,” Carmichael said with a shiver. “That’s disgusting.”

  The creature looked at Carmichael as it crunched into bone, totally unconcerned as it ate the rat thing, skin, bones and all.

  “You think it is intelligent?” Burke said coming up. He motioned for Carmichael and the crewman to put their weapons down.

  “No idea,” Leonessa said and got up to kneel. Now she was looking down on it as it lay their feasting. “Sure is hungry.”

  “So how can we find out if it is intelligent?” Carmichael said, her eyes refusing to leave it, her hand never straying from the grip on her rifle.

  “Maybe we ask it about mathematics and trigonometry?” Burke suggested.

  “Smart ass,” Carmichael said with a gleam in her eyes and a quick glance at the lanky officer.

  “Doesn’t seem to be hostile,” Burke said. “Although, I’ll bet it can be dangerous.”

  Leonessa reached out to touch it. The creature stopped briefly from its meal to sniff her hand and then resumed.

  “It is domestic it appears,” Burke said, “I wonder if it ate its previous owners.”

  Leonessa touched its shoulder, and a thrill went through her. The creature was nothing but muscles, skin, fur, and bones. She petted it, running her hand along the rough shoulder. It leaned into her hand, still eating.

  “Definitely friendly,” Leonessa said. Carmichael slung her weapon on her back and came forward to pet it but the creature stopped eating to look at Carmichael. Its mouth was partially open and its muzzle was covered with black looking blood. Wicked sharp teeth hid in the shadows of the mouth.

  Carmichael stopped, unsure.

  “Maybe I’ll try to pet it when it’s done with dinner?” she said. Burke laughed and Leonessa smiled.

  “You have a new friend Captain,” Burke said. “I hope it doesn’t eat you.”

  “Thanks Burke,” Leonessa said.

  “You have a name for it?” Burke said.

  “I have no idea,” Leonessa said. “It could be a boy or girl. It is an alien, it could be both or neither.”

  “Then we call it Felix the Cat,” Burke said.

  “Um, no,” said Carmichael. “That ain’t no freaking cat!”

  “How would you know, have you ever eaten one?” Burke asked.

  “You’re weird Lieutenant Burke,” Carmichael said giving Burke a glance, wondering if he was serious. “You don’t eat cats.”

  “How do you know?” Burke asked.

  Carmichael shrugged.

  “You are just weird Lieutenant,” she said.

  Leonessa sat back and watched the creature. Her arm was getting tired rubbing it but she felt better. She would have to come up with a plan to get Bebchuck and his people back. She had lost communication with him after entering the corridor.

  “Normal people stay home and stay safe,” Burke said. “I’m in good company.”

  Felix finished its meal and then went to sit beside Leonessa where it lay down and curled up against her.

  Doc came over and squatted down where he could watch Leonessa and Felix.

  “You have a new friend,” Doc said.

  Leonessa nodded. Felix pushed Leonessa so it could have more room and Leonessa pushed back, but Felix pushed harder, so Leonessa relented with a smile. This stranger was not shunning her.

  “Are we over our pity party?” Doc asked on a private channel.

  Leonessa glared at Doc.

  “
Better,” he said. “You saved more than you lost.”

  “I still left people behind,” Leonessa said. Some of her dark mood returning.

  “You will still go back for them,” Doc said. “Don’t give me any shit. I know how it works. No use getting your entire command killed. Run away to fight another day. Abandoning them is having a chance to save them.”

  “You aren’t the one who left someone behind,” Leonessa said angrily. “They were my people, my responsibility.”

  “No,” Doc said. “I’m the one that can’t save the dying sometimes, like when I’m covered in their blood, doing everything I can think of to save their life or give them a few more minutes. Then again, sometimes I can. Don’t get all uptight with me princess.”

  Doc scowled at her. “Sometimes my greatest feat is removing someone’s head from their ass. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don’t because their head is so far up their ass they are seeing double.”

  “You are out of line,” Leonessa said getting ready to get up.

  “Court martial me, but remove your head from your ass first,” Doc said glaring at Leonessa.

  Leonessa started to pull herself to her feet, but a claw reached out from Felix and hooked onto her leg, gently but effectively holding her in place. Felix placed his head on her leg and looked up at her before putting his head back down and closing his eyes.

  Her anger left her and she settled back with a deep breath. The claws retracted but the paw and Felix’s head did not.

  Doc was watching Felix and Leonessa with wide eyes.

  “That’s odd,” Doc said as Leonessa petted Felix.

  She looked at the creature. It had scars upon scars in some places. Some of the scars seemed deep. She could see at least one scar that had probably been a life-threatening injury stretching across the neck to the belly. She couldn’t feel the fur through her glove and she wondered if it was as soft as it looked. The creature had no fear of her. She tried to imagine the pain and suffering it had endured. Living in this dark hellhole, constantly fighting to survive. She wondered what had given it those scars. At least one looked like a burn instead of a cut. Was it alone? It seemed to be a social creature, maybe domestic but Leonessa doubted its original owners had been human.