I gave her a nod of my head and said, “Justice is the name I have given to the A.I. of this ship; he is currently cataloging the items stored in the cargo bay and the hanger. Once I have seen the list and understand what I have in my inventory, I will have Justice make you aware of what I have to trade. If you find the need to communicate with Justice, I will make him available to you. To be quite honest, he is sentient and has a free will to communicate, so just call his name and if he sees need to answer he will. You are to consider the quarters you are currently occupying your permanent residence while on board. You are also free to come and go as you please. If Justice denies you access to any of the ships spaces, you must honor that as if the order came from me. If you wish to be repatriated with your crew immediately, tell Justice the coordinates. When we are sure we are not being followed we will take you to a safe location to meet them. I am going to get some sleep. I will be on the bridge after I awake if you need to talk to me. Time is measured in hours on my world. I will see you in about six hours.
I awoke feeling fresh and went down to grab a bite to eat. Both my guest were eating but sitting at different tables. I was hoping Tria had forgiven my bribe attempt. I set my tray down and gave them an invitation to join me.
“Tria, have you decided where you would like to be dropped off?”
“Nathan Myers, in all my time exploring the void I have never met another species with an aura such as yours. Most all races including a great number of my own species have had their auras greatly diminished by the darkness and inequality that is so prevalent in the galaxy. You on the other hand have an aura that is untainted by the wide spread corruption that quickly sickens entire races dooming them to greed and deceit. You may yet succumb to the ailment that is decaying the entire galaxy, but I sense you will fight with all your spirit to avoid that outcome. I do not wish to leave Nathan Myers. I want to share with you what I have learned of this galaxy and in return I will have my spirit renewed and my aura cleansed. You have no crew. You have no one to share the burdens that will undoubtedly come your way. You will have many battles to be fought in your future and no allies to assist you. You will need my help Nathan Myers. If you seek an allegiance of trust, then trust you shall receive. I am prepared to embark with you on your mission regardless of outcome or who you have chosen as your foes. If I fall in combat, my aura will be born anew and with it a new spirit to take up our cause. My meditations have removed all doubt the destiny of the Human race and that of the Chaalt have become intertwined and the outcome of that relationship will be an antidote to the poison that is spreading throughout our galaxy.
Tria’s words drew me in like a warm embrace. The power of her presence physically calmed all of my nervous aspirations. I could feel her irresistible spirit caress my inner soul leaving me no doubts about whether I should trust her words or that I even had a choice in her staying. Her dominating influence must have been contagious because Coonts sat quietly staring with the look that I’ve come to accept as anticipation.
“Coonts, if I was to obtain the systems that were removed from this ship would you be interested in helping me restore this ship to its original condition? I would pay you very well for your services.
The little Grawl gave me a troubling look.
“The ships A.I. which you refer to as Justice, has allowed me to survey the damage my former clan sibling has wrought on this vessel. I am confident of my ability to restore this ship’s systems. I am less than confident about your ability to recover those systems because of their current location. Given the level of intelligence of the ship’s A.I. the probability of you knowing where the missing systems are being stored is 100%. The probability of you acquiring them without armed conflict is 0. My race as a whole is capable of minor defensive military operations. While it might sound very distasteful to most other species Grawl prefer to leave the dying to someone else. Grawl prefer to gain their wealth through technology and then spend that wealth on mercenaries to protect the technology we acquire. I am more than willing to help restore this ship for reasonable compensation but I am ill trained in the art of combat. I am sure you have noticed I am a liability when pursued under fire. The research station will most certainly have an unknown number of Sitch laborers but what you will have to be alert for at all times, is the presence of Tibor mercenaries. There was a number of Tibor at the outpost when I was forced to leave. They are a highly trained predatory race motivated by wealth and honor for their clan. They are fearless in combat. The Tibor do not believe in retreat, to retreat is cowardice and will bring dishonor to their clan. Even though I have witnessed your lust for violence and your careless disregard for bodily injury, I am not convinced you will survive a confrontation with Tibor.
Tria looked concerned when she turned to me.
“I have considerable experience in combat operations Nathan Myers. The galaxy is full of pirates that prey on salvagers, so we tend to be well armed and ready to repel boarders at all times. In many areas of the fringe, battle with pirates is common if they believe you to be weak. It was routine practice by my former Captain to attack any vessel that approached our ship without acknowledging our hails. My crew and I were involved in several skirmishes with pirates of different species. We were fortunate to be the victors in all of our engagements.
Her frankness surprised me and I wondered what kind of combat training she had. I did not take her statement as any kind of brag. I took it as a testament of her skills.
She quickly added “I have knowledge of a station where your cargo would be welcome with very few questions of how you obtained it. It is a known pirate market place so you will have to be on your guard. The unknown capabilities of this ship will only buy you so much time before someone figures out it is unarmed. I will give Justice the coordinates if you choose to make a stop before you undertake your mission.”
Coonts verifying the location of the Legacies processing modules was encouraging, but the thought of going up against trained mercenaries was frightening. Coonts verified Justice’s warning about the Tibor and it was a warning I would take seriously. Tria Burlor’s response to the presence of mercenaries surprised me. She volunteered to go with no hesitation whatsoever. It was like she didn’t care who she went up against. I glanced at her captivating figure out of the corner of my eye hoping she literally did not have the oversized nads I was giving her credit for.
“Justice, I would like your take on our chances of completing the mission with Coonts handling comms to get us in and Tria backing me up when I try to collect your modules.”
“Nathan, without knowing the nature of Tria Burlor’s combat experience, I give you an additional 20% positive mission outcome with her as your back up. This will improve your security during your search and help suppress hostile activity if it is encountered. Probability of successful mission outcome is presently 61% without further preparation. I recommend moving to system 2456 and commence a passive scan of 2456-4 to accumulate additional data on vessels docked to the station or any currently in the system.
“Did you find anything useful in the cargo we took from Drayen?”
“I have a partial list of inventory that can be readily traded. When the Legacy was docked at outpost three, I penetrated the systems that allowed me to load the contents of the storage area. Those systems had records indicating the current value of an extensive list of artifacts. I have used this information to value a great many of the artifacts you now possess. I have separated the cargo into two categories. The first being items to retain for future consideration and the second being items for immediate trade purposes. The items in the second category are mostly race specific artifacts that have significant value but would be of little use to humanoid physiological and atmospheric needs. There is a considerable amount of precious minerals and alloys that have value in excess of 300 million credits. I would suggest we make a group effort in the hangar to complete our search for mission specific force multipliers. I will plot the necessary jumps for proper
orientation to enter system 2456 and begin passive scanning immediately upon exit from hyperspace."
It was finally dawning on me the amount of wealth passing through Drayen’s grubby little hands. The ten billion I bilked him out of was probably a very small drop in the bucket. Since I seemed to have credits out the wazoo, I decided it was time to get out a juicy carrot to dangle in front of my new crew.
“Since I have come into a considerable amount of credits and the both of you seem willing to help me complete my mission, I will pay you both a crew sign on fee of one million credits to show you my appreciation for throwing in with me when I could really use your help. I also propose at the end of our mission regardless of outcome, I will pay you an additional four million credits each. Tria, I will pay you two million extra for combat pay if we encounter hostile action.”
I thought I had insulted them because they both looked at me with an intense stare. They looked at each other and back at me again. The looks slowly changed to a big Grawl smile matched by the very human smile from the Chaalt. I hoped a credit was not equal to a penny. Five or six million pennies was still a lot of money but it was not my intention to cheap shit anyone. It was time to start prepping for the mission and I hoped there was something in the hangar that would give us an edge over my adversaries. I smiled back at them and hoped I would outlive the personification of my bestial conduct.
We all headed to the hanger and started going methodically through the assortment of crates. They ranged in size from big enough to carry a basketball to a few that were bigger than those I discovered on Earth. I was having a hard time trying to make heads or tails as to what I was rummaging through when I came across a crate that was shaped like a round violin case. I immediately conjured the thought of a good old fashioned Earth Tommy gun. I opened the case and was slightly disappointed to find a round oblong cylinder about eight inches around and a foot long that had a grip on the rear and side. It had a tube sticking out the side with a clear globe on the end.
“Justice, I have found something that resembles a weapon but I’m not sure. Could I have a dose of your wisdom?”
“Nathan, the device you have is for manipulating gravity and is commonly used for loading heavy freight. Walk up to one of the larger crates and squeeze the trigger on the rear grip to activate the field and then use the rocker switch on the side grip to lock and unlock the field. You will be able to life objects up to an estimated ten thousand Earth pounds. If you exceed its capability, it will resist upward movement when you try to lift an object.”
I walked over to several good-sized crates and quickly got the hang of using the simple device. I finally walked over to one of the large shipping containers similar to the ones I discovered and locked on to it but the device froze in my hands and refused to budge until I unlocked the container. The field’s radius was about twenty feet. Possibilities for its use were stacking up pretty quick in the back of my mind. I had at least fifty of the cylindrical cases on the pallet I was working on. While this thing was no weapon, I was considering making a sling for it and taking one with me on the mission. Our search ended after a couple of hours and it was determined that most all the artifacts were of a benign nature and while valuable they were not useable on the upcoming mission.
We decided to eat and go over the list of artifacts. I noticed Coonts had set several items aside, and I hoped they would be useful.
“Coonts, I see you stock piled some items from our cargo, what have you got in mind for them?”
“Mr. Myers, The items are flexible super alloys known as artifacts 958 and 2762. I intend to laminate them with artifact 699 to make high strength lightweight body armor. I will start the process with the help of Justice and should have three armored prototypes ready in sixty Earth hours or less. When the prototypes have been modified for each of our individual needs, I will then attempt to incorporate cloaking technology from my race into the suits to give us additional probabilities for successful mission outcome.
“Coonts, I don’t think that it will be necessary to produce three suits since Tria and I should be the only ones in contact with hostiles. I had assumed you would stay on the ship and attempt to guide us on comms.”
“Mr. Myers, I have decided to join you on the journey through the research station because of my intimate knowledge of the complex. I also find the human concept of combat pay an attractive proposition. I also wish to observe your acts of coordinated violence. I would like to better understand primitive bestial behavior and its application to adverse situations. My race has shunned this behavior for many generations. I would like to learn how to benefit from this knowledge. Studying this behavior will help me rationalize its use as a necessary means to alter improbable outcomes.”
I smiled knowing the little Grawl was full of shit and the right amount of credits could make a beast out of just about anybody. It sounded like Coonts would have decent body armor for us. I guess it was an insurance policy to increase the odds of him collecting his mission pay. Justice informed me he was constructing helmets for Coonts and Tria and would incorporate an IFF system into them so they would be able to pick up cloaked Grawl as well as each other. Different identifying colors would help keep the chances of friendly fire to a minimum. Coonts had already informed me the Grawl tube weapons were only biometrically adaptable to Grawl. That was fine by me he could easily carry one of the Grawl weapons and a gravity jack.
I needed to select a proper weapon for Tria so I told Justice to grab my custom AR-10 and bring it to the lab to see if we needed to modify it for Tria. The .308 caliber ammunition packed a heavy punch, but I was hoping Justice could elevate its status to alien annihilator. The only other rifles at my disposal, was another AR-15 in the lighter caliber of 5.56mm and three bolt action rifles with small capacity box magazines. I had three shotguns but only two were suitable for combat. The 10 gauge auto and the slightly smaller bullpup 12 gauge, the shotguns were heavy hitters, and I told Justice to bring them with the rest of my shotgun ammo.
“Nathan, it will be more efficient to remove the projectiles in both ammunition types and manufacture enhanced projectiles of the same weight. In the case of the larger bore shotgun the new enhanced ammunition will have a penetrator nosecone and a highly explosive frangible sub munition. It is a larger version of your current shotgun ammunition with considerable more destructive power. The rifle ammunition will be of the same design but because of its smaller projectile the explosive damage will be less noticeable. It will however have increased penetration due to its much higher velocity. The hull alloy nose penetrators will defeat most body armor but will cause very little to no damage to energy field shielding. It will be necessary to shorten the barrel of the large bore shotgun. I will remove the shoulder stock and opt instead for a super alloy handgrip with integrated finger guard. I will extend it from the base of the grip to just in front of the existing trigger guard. This will make it suitable for melee attacks if you are interrupted while reloading the limited capacity magazine. All weapons will have the point and shoot capability. I am currently working with Coonts to manufacture an appropriate helmet and HUD device for Tria Burlor. I recommend Tria Burlor start working with the human weapon systems as soon as possible to become accustomed to proper function and usage.”
It turned out Tria did not need much schooling on the weapons. She was a natural and her ability to target two independent objects at the same time and fire and reload two weapons at the same time had me in awe. Having four arms in combat was just like having another trooper in the ranks and I was thinking I was going to have to pay her double if we lived to talk about it.
Coonts on the other hand was having trouble getting his bulbous head in the game of shoot and loot. He was way to slow in targeting and would most probably slow us down in a firefight. He did have a redeeming factor in that he could use the gravity jack like he was born with it. He had the ability to move cargo and equipment while looking at me and carrying on a conversation.
That
night after dinner we had nonstop planning on how to best execute the mission if we were allowed into the facility. We were concerned about the layout and opposition we might face. Coonts had been away for so long he could not be sure of the floor plan. There was also the chance the systems we were after may not be located at the station anymore. The unknowns far outweighed the facts. We would be forced to go in fast and loose making up most of the operational plans on the fly. My Grandfathers wisdom came back to me again. Plan for the worst and hope for the best Nathan. I was hoping for the best!
16
We had just made our final jump to 2456 and as I was recovering from the small discomfort I was quickly growing used to. Justice alerted me a Galactic warship was headed out of the system and we had escaped notice by sheer dumb luck. I would take luck regardless of how dumb it might be. It was a little unsettling not knowing if Coonts was going to be able to pass himself off as Sora without setting off alarms in the process. Things were going good till Justice kicked my little wet dream of a hit-and-run mission out the airlock. He detected a Tibor assault shuttle docked to the station along with two Grawl transports. The Tibor shuttle could hold as many as twelve troopers. The Grawl transports were for small groups of dignitaries and usually only carried a party of six with two Sitch to carry their luggage and equipment. So much for my dumb luck!
“Justice is there olfactory sensory receptors in my helmet. I want to be able to get a whiff of any Tibor before they start shooting at me.”
“Yes Nathan, as long as there is breathable atmosphere you will be able to smell Tibor from a reasonable distance. When they are extremely agitated, you will be able to distinguish their noticeable stench from a considerable distance.”
I could tell Coonts was not happy at the prospects of encountering Tibor. He was sitting by himself and not being his usual talkative self. Tria had a look of concern on her face but continued her weapons drills nonstop. I wondered if Coonts would back out.
First of my Kind Page 19
