I had heard once that Indians bestowed a considerable amount of respect for their adversaries based on their ferocity and fearlessness. At the moment Coonts had me thinking I had just kicked the mother of all hornet nests. I have always had a healthy respect for hornets.
“Nathan, The nature of your activities has somehow freed door security codes for the dock area. I have not been able to restore atmosphere to the dock but will continue my attempts. It is still advisable to acquire an atmospheric suit for Coonts before we leave the outpost.
I’ve always been a fan of good news during bad situations. I was thinking our luck was changing for the better when another disk came down from the ceiling to our right. The crew on it was already cloaked and ready for action. I let my half loaded shotgun fall to my side and drew the pistol as several blue flashes darkened and fuzzed my H.U.D. The hits I took felt like light punches to my chest and left leg. The distortion cleared, and I had a good dot and sight picture as I squeezed off six rounds at the occupants of the disk. My first round was high from the heavy recoil and exploded with a bright flash on the overhead behind my targets. My next five rounds were on the money when I tightened my grip and leaned into my stance. What the buckshot lacked in penetration the exploding .44 rounds did not. The bright flashes of impacts were leaving visible Grawl with huge rends in their suits as three of them were blown from the disk. I could see glimpses of the remaining Grawl that were exposed to fragmentation from the pistol bullets. The disk shot back up into the overhead ending the confrontation.
I jammed the empty pistol into my shoulder holster and whipped the shotgun back up and started reloading it again. I looked behind me and saw Coonts lying prone on the floor and thought OH SHIT! I reached down and picked up the Grawl by the back of my cape fearing the worst. I was instantly flooded with relief when his short little legs started pumping like a marathon runner. I set him back down, and he took off pointing and blubbering at an open doorway at the end of the storage area. I brought up the rear and dropped the fully loaded shotgun back to my side and drew the pistol to give it a fresh reload.
“Justice, we’re headed your way, are the Grawl still working on your hatches?”
“No Nathan, they have abandoned their efforts and are currently evacuating the dock in close proximity to your location. There is a probability they will have to pass your location. I have picked up some very confusing comm traffic. It seems there is a rumor the Overlord of this outpost was gravely wounded in a pitched battle with a platoon of blood thirsty aliens. Message traffic says the crazed aliens are executing everyone they are coming into contact with in the storage area next to the docks. Several races are abandoning the outpost. All personnel in this section of the docking facilities are in massed retreat to the opposite side of the outpost. Can you confirm the presence of a predator race?”
“Justice as far as I know I’m the only predator Drayen had a run in with. You could definitely say our encounter wasn’t good for him. He’s lying about the platoon and the executions so nobody will come down here and figure out he got his ass handed to him by a single human beast. We’re trying to get a suit for Coonts and then we are out of here. Keep me posted on any chances they might try to retake the dock.”
“Coonts, where are the suits you were talking about?”
“I only know they are kept at this location Mr. Myers. I believe a brief search will be required to find them. I am very curious about your verbal communications with the Legacy Project A.I. I have noted no return verbalizations and wonder how it is possible for the ship to communicate with a human. In all my years of study the ship never communicated with anyone at the research facility. I am mystified how the ship is able to properly function without several of its processing cores.”
“We’ll have a chance to talk after we get out of here. There are several Grawl trying to escape out of the dock. They might be coming through here so let’s start looking for a suit. I want you to start opening the doors one at a time. I’ll go in to make sure it is clear before you do a quick search.”
We came to the first door, and I pulled my shotgun up and nodded to Coonts and the door opened to an empty cubicle and nothing useful. We moved on to the second door and I nodded. The door came open, and I leaned in. Two Grawl were lying stretched out on the floor in what I guessed was universal for don’t shoot I’m not going to cause trouble. There was a large screen on the wall showing the storage area. These guys had every right to be scared for their lives after seeing how I handled diplomacy.
“If you stay in here and do not interfere with my mission, I will let you live. If you disobey my orders, I will kill you and all of your clan brethren on this outpost.”
I turned around and had Coonts close the door. We moved on to the next door across the hall. I nodded, and the door came open and there were only crates stacked in it. I started to wonder if we were going to find anything when I heard a commotion at the end of the corridor. We got behind cover in time to see the door open and a crowd of techs come down the hallway. They stopped dead in their tracks when they noticed me in the edge of the doorway with my shotgun pointing in their direction.
“Stop where you are! If you cloak, you will be destroyed!”
They all hit the floor face down and stretched out. I was not sure who taught them that trick, but it went in my notebook of things to remember. To my surprise a door on my right opened and a couple more Grawl flopped prone on the floor with the rest of the bunch. I appreciated their spirit of cooperation. I turned to Coonts and told him to escort them out to the storage area. Tell them if they come back I will take great pleasure in destroying them all. To emphasize my point, I pulled my pistol and held it out to Coonts grip first. His mouth hung open and his eyes were wide. I shook it at him and he reached up with both hands and gripped the big revolver. I gently pushed the barrel in a safe direction and nodded towards the door. I stage whispered, “Don’t put your finger on the trigger unless you need to shoot one of these guys.” The Grawl looked shocked and indecisive. I added some positive reinforcement.
“Anyone who disobeys Coonts will be executed!”
I watched as they made a quick march towards the cargo area. Coonts collected the two from the office and they all disappeared through the doorway. I turned and continued my search for a suit, cursing because I should have had one of the prisoners donate to our cause.
“Justice, go ahead and open all the doors at my location. All combatants have left the area.”
The doors all slid open, and I cautiously looked into each making sure I was indeed alone. The first door I came to was another office, but the second yielded what we were after. There was a rack with twenty or thirty suits on it. What was more interesting was the rack on the opposite wall. It was full of the tube weapons they were so fond of using on me. I decided we were going to take everything in the room with us when we leave. Thinking a little more about it I decided everything in the cargo area should be fair game as well.
“Justice, get a loading ramp setup to your cargo hold. I am feeling really greedy right at the moment and I am seeking restitution for past damages inflicted upon my race by alien trespassers.”
“Nathan, the systems are fully automated and I have access to all loading equipment in the dock area. I will attempt to scan for items of interest and for future use by your world. Since we do not have a shuttle, we can load additional cargo in the hangar.”
Someone somewhere was not going to like the exchange rate on this transaction. I heard a soft swish down the hall and looked out to see Coonts walking up the hall still pointing the pistol straight out in front of him. I called out to him, “Point that thing in a safe direction.” I do not believe he had ever held a weapon before and did not have a clue as to what safe weapon handling was. I walked up to him, relieved him of the pistol, took my cape, and put it back on.
“Coonts, I found the atmospheric suits. Get one on then gather up everything in the room and move it out to the Legacy. We are going to t
ake the weapons, suits and anything else we decide is valuable for the illegal trespasses against my race.”
The little guy gave me a quizzical look, then took off with what I thought was a huge Grawl smile. I was quickly becoming attached to the name Legacy, and would see if Justice had any objections to the label. I had subconsciously acknowledged the name when referencing the ship and was thinking the Grawl project name was fitting. I needed to complete my search for anything useful so we could high tail it out of here with our confiscated booty.
The next room to my left was stacked with crates that held little interest to me so I moved on to the much bigger door way closest to the dock. I walked into the room and was puzzled by the layout. Against one wall there were four doors about ten feet apart. The other had four desks with large blank monitors on them.
“Justice, I thought you opened all the doors at my location. I found four still closed in some kind of office.”
“Nathan, I have been denied access. The door locking systems are protected by a very sophisticated security encryption. It will take an extended period of time to decode it. Someone has placed considerable value on what is hidden behind the doors.”
I hated secrets especially valuable secrets. I pulled my shotgun up and selected the magazine with the penetrator slugs and walked up to one of the doors. I was deciding how best to open it, when I got a surprise from behind me.
“Human! You must leave this outpost at once or I will send an overwhelming force of Sitch to destroy you. Leave at once with your stolen property and I will take no further action against you!”
I was glad Drayen could not see the startled look hidden behind my visor. The little prick had been watching me all this time! I already knew most races had evacuated this part of the outpost and this clown did not think I knew it. I was sure he was bluffing. I was also sure he was desperate to keep me from finding out what was behind these doors. My mind was furiously trying to churn out a way to spin this to my advantage. Then it came to me just like wisdom from my Grandparents! Two can play at this game. I slowly turned to the monitor displaying Drayens face. I could tell from the background he was in a medical pod and he probably did not think I knew that either. The cogs running my think plant kicked my machinations into overdrive as an even better scenario came to mind.
“Do you think the reason you are still live was an error or miscalculation on my part! Do you not wonder how you and a select few of your minions survived our confrontation while others died at the slightest provocation! Apparently, I have made an error in my judgment of you. I considered your lies of a large attack force to be a means of saving the lives of any race that opposed me. Your decision to evacuate this section of the outpost did indeed spare this outpost massive damage and casualties. You would have best served those few remaining races on this outpost by enduring your convalescence in silence while I completed my mission. But now you have shown me your lies were nothing more than the cowardly acts of your inbred immorality. The small value I placed on your future usefulness and that of this outpost is now forfeit. I find myself struggling with my anger at your arrogant stupidity. Your moronic chatter is provoking the primitive urge to seek you out and rend your limbs from your body. You should take comfort in the knowledge I will suppress such mindless violence and your passing will be painless. The hydrogen based fusion devices I brought with me will turn this outpost temporarily into a star.”
Wow! This was another trick going into my little black book of galactic race relations. Drayen had turned almost albino, and the look on his face put all of Coont’s past jack-o'-lantern like manifestations to shame. The thoughts I was having were too good to pass up, so I casually threw another at the little bleached dick head as a parting shot.
“Your actions have condemned all future interaction between our races. The report to my superiors will relay the failure of any useful negotiations to end any differences we might have between our races. Prepare to die you pathetic beast!”
“Stop human! I beg of you do not destroy this outpost! I cannot speak or negotiate for my race. However, it is within my power to broker a permanent secession of hostilities between us at this outpost. I have the power to open trade relations with any race I see fit. I have already laid the ground work necessary to cover up what has happened here. Most all who could speak of your actions are dead or are of my clan. No one will know what has transpired. Huge amounts of wealth move through this outpost and I would be willing to share with you. You must consider my offer!”
“Again you insult me by making me privy to your lies and deceit. I can take whatever I want and you cannot stop me. What am I to say to my superiors when asked about my mission to retrieve Coonts? They still wish to question him about Sora’s activities on my planet.”
This was starting to work out better than I thought. The alien was swallowing the load of bull I was feeding him, hook, line and sinker. Drayen was quickly recovering his normal gray pallor and with it the ability to work on a deal he hoped would spare his crooked hide along with the outpost.
“No one has to know you have found Coonts. He can stay here as he always has. I am willing to transfer you some credits as a penalty for our little disagreement. Let’s say an even billion galactic credits. That should help smooth our differences to an acceptable level don’t you think.”
Now it was my turn to be speechless. I was glad my visor hid my face because a billion of anything was better than trying to find a place to offload my stolen booty. I still needed to figure out what it is worth without getting ripped off. A billion credits seemed like a win, win situation to me. Before I could open my mouth, Drayen decided to insert his foot a little deeper into his.
“I realize now the extent of my offences may necessitate further compensation. What I meant to say was five billion galactic credits and the contents of the cargo area which I see you already have loaded in the hold of your ship. The galaxy is littered with artifact caches so there will be future chances to replace our lost inventory. I will tell my investors the inventory was stolen by one of the many predator races from the fringe. My casualties will be proof there was a pitched battle, and I was able to repel the attackers without further losses. If this offer pleases you, I will transfer the credits onto a credit device that is for use throughout the known galaxy.”
I was trying my best to roll my tongue back into my mouth so I could say some more really witty shit. I had fears of biting it off or slobbering in my helmet to the point of drowning. He was obviously taking my lack of a quick response as careful consideration rather than the flabbergasting astonishment it actually was. I needed to come to my senses and keep the velocity of the spin that was heavily favoring me at the moment, to continue its progression in that direction.
“Your offer has merit in that, if I don’t destroy this outpost it will be seen as a conciliatory gesture to the other races I might wish to bargain with. I have never failed to complete a combat mission, so Coonts goes with me in case I am recalled to explain my actions. I also believe his knowledge of artifacts will prove quite useful. I believe that in lieu of the ten percent dividend I was considering placing on your annual profits, I will require another five billion credits in addition to the five you have offered. In exchange for the additional credits I will occasionally bring you legally obtained artifacts. I will sell them to you at a discounted price so you will realize a good profit margin from their trade or resale.”
My conditions changed the expression on the Grawl’s face. I was not sure but I think the Overlord had just given me a sly almost sinister smile. I did not like the uneasy feeling I was getting. I wanted to bolt but reigned in my sudden bout of nerves. It was time to make my getaway but first I needed some assurances.
“All of our transactions must be kept secret so no one will know the nature of our relationship. That way you will be free to use the artifacts and the profits anyway you see fit. Before I can finalize any commitment with you, it has come to my attention you are hiding somethi
ng behind these doors. If I decide to strike a bargain with you, I must have complete transparency on your part or I will have difficulty believing you are being honest with me. Open the doors and I will decide if what you hide would be useful to me. I will not ask you twice.”
All four doors became transparent. Three were empty and one had an alien in it. These were obviously holding cells. The almost seven foot tall graceful looking being had four arms. The rest of its willowy body had female attributes that would make most males back home sweat a little. Its face had two slightly large almond shaped eyes with striking green pupils. Its nose and mouth were a little small but fit well on her slender face. The being’s long thick black hair was pulled back tightly and banded behind its head in ponytail fashion. Its skin was a light brown that could pass for most people of African descent back on Earth. This alien was hands down the easiest on the eyes, I had met so far.
Drayen seemed a little eager when he said, “I have nothing of value hidden here. This is simply a prisoner that was picked up by Galactic warships during a routine pirate interdiction patrol. She was dropped off here so we could figure out if she had anything to do with the pirates plaguing these remote sectors or she just needed to be repatriated.
I was starting to smell a big Grawl rat! Drayen was being way to compliant for someone who just got a good ass kicking. I don’t think he wanted me pondering the subject for much longer because he hastily added; “Sometimes there are finders fees involved with repatriation that can be quite lucrative. Now that you see I have hidden nothing from you I am prepared to make an immediate transfer of credits and agree to all of your conditions. All that has transpired this day and all records pertaining to this calendar date are permanently erased upon our agreement.”
Damn! He agreed way to fast I could have probably got another five billion out of him! I suspected Drayen was a lot more than he is letting on to be. His ability to blind me of his motives with a crap load of credits was working. Having the credentials of a third rate mule trader in your resume did not fast track you to the position of Overlord. Justice must have thought I was spending too much time dicking with Drayen.
First of my Kind Page 17
