by T. J. Quinn
It was a swift thirty-minute flit from the high plateau to Mari-Sanna Starport in the desert north of Sapphire Lake in Hankura's sleek silver and black air wedge. When the hovercraft settled lightly to the pavement in the west hover station, Hankura waited for the computer to shut down the engine and opened the hatch. As it did, he climbed out squinting against the bright orange tinted morning sun.
A stiff breeze fluttered is cream colored tunic and pants, tossing his thick umber hair about his angular face. A low roar from above caused him to look up as a lumbering freighter slowly descended to one of the three primary landing pads. He stood watching until it settled to the ground and the engine noise died.
Lanimer and Jamerin loved to watch the landings and the launchings. That is, Jamerin did before… Orin still brought Lanimer. Sometimes, Hankura and Orin brought both boys, but the awesome sight had ceased to phase Jamerin since the onset of the nightmare of his dawning.
Hankura sighed wistfully at the turn of his thoughts and fought back the helpless feeling that threatened to engulf him. It was what had brought him out in the rising heat of the day to Mari-Sanna. Self-pity wasn't going to get him anywhere. With that resolve, he turned toward the Starport terminal walking to the entrance in long, graceful strides. Inside the dark tinted glass walls, the cool air jolted been refreshed him. He paused to let his eyes adjust for the muted light and continued across the main terminal for the dispatcher’s office.
From passing off worlders, Hankura drew curious stares, but friendly greetings from Starport personnel who recognized him. From his time at the rebuilding of Zevus Mar, he had worn the loose fitting practical clothing of the darker skinned native Zevians. He favored that clothing for casual wear.
Lyneda chief Starport dispatcher, was expecting him so there was no delay after a pressed the courtesy signal to announce his arrival. The dispatcher’s door slid open immediately in Hankura entered without ceremony. She smiled cordially as he came to stand before her desk and gestured for him to sit in the thickly padded chair in front of it.
However, Hankura sensed behind the friendly smile her curiosity as to what could possibly have warranted a personal visit when they generally did most of their business over the vidcom. He nodded politely, letting her curiosity pass for a moment as he lowered his tall, lean frame into the offered chair. Although he'd known Lyneda for seven years and considered the former starship captain a friend, it was still difficult to speak to her about the subject at hand.
He frowned inwardly then raised his eyes to her dark, aquiline features. She was middle aged, just about 85, with a plump round faced, framed in short wiry silver hair swept are back from her face away from her shrewd brown eyes. After commanding she starship freighters for nearly fifty years and picking crews for them, she was in pretty good judge of people even without Hankura's kind of insight. It was highly evident that the Aledan Physician was deeply troubled and she was growing very curious.
"I know." Hankura grinned faintly, clasping and on clasping his long surgeons fingers together in front of him. "Now that I am here, what do I want?"
"I'm damned curious." Lyneda nodded. “I really didn't think you popped out here to exchange social niceties. We can do that over the com. Do you want to tell me what's bothering you? You know I’ll try to help if I can't."
"Well, you know I sold the mran? “Hankura sighed. "We were sorry to let her go, but we can use the credits more than the mran right now. It hadn't been out in five years anyhow." He shrugged. "You see; our son is having problems that we haven't been able to handle very well on our own. Chelle and I have decided to take him to Velran… For evaluation… And possibly therapy." He hesitated a moment before he went on. "You know a mran is too small to transport more than two people any great distance. Velran is at least a four jump voyage, it takes about six months from this sector."
"So, you want to book passage?" Lyneda still wondered why he didn't just com.
"Yes as soon as possible."
"So, what's the problem?" She asked finally, wishing he'd stop being so secretive and come out with it.
“My son is a dawning psi-path." Hankura breathed carefully.
Understanding flickered in the woman's deep brown eyes. "How strong?"
"Nine or ten at least, and he’s still growing. There are complications that prevent us from training him ourselves."
The dispatcher drew a deep breath and let it out. "Well, it looks like you really do have a problem. Just you and Chelle---I can get you passage anywhere you like in Federation sectors… But a dawner that strong is going to be hard to move."
" Yes, I know." Hankura nodded grimly. " We both know the situation is potentially dangerous. Chelle and I aren’t quite strong enough to keep him entirely in check, but we can run interference to help prevent accidental injuries.
" And that's why I came to you personally. I want this problem kept completely confidential. I didn't want anyone to accidentally intercept this conversation over the vidcom." Hankura added. "Oltarin is our home. But even here, some people might turn against us in fear if they knew. I've seen it happen before."
"And so have I," Lyneda nodded and reached to the beverage dispenser mounted on her desk. "Can I offer you something?"
"Cold jern, please." Hankura replied with a polite smile.
She pressed the appropriate panel in the cold liquid started to pour into a disposable cup. Passing that when to her guest, she ordered a second for herself and didn't speak again until she'd taken a good swallow from it.
"I'd like to help, Hankura. If you have the time to wait, I’ll start checking right now. A freighter just landed here and there are three in base. Most of them take passengers."
" I've got plenty of time. I have nothing more important to do today." He told her earnestly and sat back drinking his jern while the dispatcher started checking her computer for ships with registered courses through the Velran sector.
They were none.
Next, she checked for those with courses connecting with other ports where Hankura might secure passage for his family, and she found one that might have a connection. At least it was heading in the right direction.
"Okay, now I'll com the first mate and see what we can arrange." She said, glancing up from her terminal screen. Pressing the code sequence on the touch screen from memory, she waited for the image to materialize on her terminal screen. Momentarily the image of a thirtyish blond man filled the screen.
"Jade Wolf, first mate Grice speaking." He looked enquiringly into the screen.
"Morning Grice. This is dispatcher Lyneda. I understand you have an open cabin going out. I have a man here was interested in making connections for him and his family to Velran. Do you think the Jade Wolf could accommodate them?"
" Well, we're going as far as Rintalis before a break off and head in a different direction. I'm sure they can get passage to Velran from there." He replied, glancing to an unseen point. "How many in his family?"
"Four, including him. He has a wife and two children."
"Well it’d be a little cramped, but it would be possible. Could you give me a name and information for immigration records?"
Hankura shook his head vehemently. "No name." He murmured very quietly. "Just tell him the situation."
"All right." She nodded, turning her attention back to Grice. " I'll give you the background first. The man and his wife are psi paths in the son is a dawner. That's why they want to go to Velran."
Grice blew out his breath audibly and looked away from the screen uncomfortably aware that the man in question was going to hear what he didn't want to say. Shaking his head, he gradually met the gaze of the woman on his screen.
"Sorry ma'am. I can't do it. Driscoll would never approve it, not even at twice the going rate." He apologized. "We've got thirteen passengers and seventeen crewmen to consider; we're responsible. We have nothing against psi paths, but dawners are dangerous. Taking the kid to Velran for training is probably the best thing your client could
do, but we can't help him---its policy."
"It's okay." Hankura murmured grimly "I had to try."
The fact that he wasn't surprised made the results no less disappointing. Not hiding his feelings very well, he stood suddenly in slammed is empty cup on the desktop soundly. "Thanks anyway, Lyneda." He muttered. Turning, he strode from our office not knowing exactly what he was going to do next. He only knew he had to do something.
After reconditioning, he'd gotten two million for the mran and there were six million credits in Aledan Trust for the children. Although he didn't really want to use those funds, he would for Jamerin. Maybe the broker who'd sold the mran for them could find them and other ship. With that in mind, Hankura headed for his office.
The broker was a dark complected had Zevian transplant of about sixty with black thinning hair and a stocky frame. Like Hankura and his family, Almed came to Oltarin to escape the memories of the Zevus Mar invasion. He gave Hankura a tentative, hopeful smile as he strode in through the open door way and came to stand before the service counter of the sparsely furnished room.
"What can---?" Almed began.
" I need a ship, preferably a small, semi-automated yacht that could comfortably carry 4 to 6 passengers and provisions. Nothing to elaborate." Hankura stated. "How much? And when can I have it?"
" Ahhh!" Almed grinned. "I think I have just the thing, six passengers, new star drive, a little guidance system. Just the thing. Com let me show it to you. It's in Bay Eight."
"Fine. How much?"
But before the short, chunky man could answer, Hankura read the answering inadvertently and the other man's mind. "Twelve million! Twelve million?" He exclaimed.
"It's a fair price." Almed insisted reproach fully. " Hankura, I'd like to help you out but you know I'm in business to make a profit on these things. The ship as many luxuries, and you know the profit margin isn’t inflated. At twelve million, I would only make fifteen percent. The very lowest I could take is ten million. And that is only from you my friend. Why is it so important for you to buy and other ships so soon after I just sold yours? I thought you planned to quit star hopping."
"I was. But now, I must take my family to Velran," Hankura said carefully.
"Well---couldn't you book passage more reasonably?" Almed asked, trying to be helpful.
"Probably---if I could find someone who'd take us. I thought---I hoped you might have a ship I could afford. But even ten million would be a strain. We have a trust on Aledus for the children, and the two million from the mran. Almost everything else is tied up in the clinic and the complex." Hankura explained. " I was hoping I wouldn't have to spend more than five mil. You see, I don't know how long I will have to stay on Velran or how much it will cost."
"I see." Almed murmured thoughtfully as Hankura paused. Then I thought struck him.
"A freighter?" Hankura looked at him with a flicker of hope.
"Yes. A small tramp liner put down here a few days ago. His star drive is out and he can't even pay his landing fees."
"So? Why did he come to you?" Hankura asked. He didn't want to upset Almed by reading him again.
"He thought maybe he could sell before the creditors for close; or maybe find a partner." Almed replied.
"How much?"
"But Hankura, I really don't think---?"
" Almed, how much?"
" Two and a half million for a thirty percent share."
"Will that pay off his creditors and get it back into space?" Hankura questioned urgently.
Almed shook his head. "Still need another million to rebuild the star drive and pay his fees. And Hankura, you may never see any return on your investment. You can't depend on a tramper---not this kind of tramper. He's the kind who takes cargo no one else will take, goes places no one else will go. They keep the ship together with a prayer and a promise. Interstellar travel is dangerous at best, and it's even more risky the way they go about it."
"I know all that, Almed. How the hell do you think Chelle and I got here in the first place?" Hankura grinned. "We were with the explorations, remember?"
"Yeah, I know. I just thought---"
"That this was the end of the line and we're going to stay put? Me too, friend. But things just don't always work out the way we plan." Hankura smiled ruefully and shrugged. "I've got to take Jamerin to Velran; it's imperative."
"For training?" Almed's nearly black eyes flickered with understanding.
"Yes," Hankura answered softly. Almed knew by the look in his eyes not to question further. "Who is the captain for this freighter and where will I find him?"
"His ship is in Bay Ten. You might check there---it's the a Sential Trader and his name is Otian."
"Thanks Almed. I'll be seeing you. Give your family our good wishes."
"And likewise, my friend." Almed smiled with a parting gesture.
Returning it, Hankura nodded and took his leave. Emerging from the clerical wing, he crossed the main terminal exchange and headed out to the docking days. At the security checkpoint he was routinely scanned and printed. He was then required to state his business and destination which was also recorded.
"Bay Ten, to see captain Otian's of the Sential Trader on business." He stated into the microphone.
A blue light flashed with the bleep and the doors slid open for him to pass. Since he was identified as an Oltarin citizen who regularly conducted business at the Starport, he was not questioned and further.
He walked onto the raised deck and preceded casually along the walkway. He had to stop and wait at several Otian ramps for droid tram surpass that were loading a cargo shuttle in the small freighter. At last, he came to Bay Ten at the end of the row, standing before the Sential Trader. He paused to survey the Sential Trader before he approached.
It was an unremarkable silver gray hull, small by freighter standards, but huge compared to his fast, sleek mran. A craft was more a less oval, nearly twice as long as it was wide with a retractable wings that gave it eyed nearly triangular shaped for landings. The Sential Trader was from an early of FTL, but Hankura knew those models were generally reliable. More than likely, her recent breakdown was caused by neglect rather than engineering flaws; not an unusual circumstance for tramp freighters.
The ship could do the job once the repairs were made. Hankura just had to convince her young captain to take it. Yeah, that's all. He mused silently, gazing at the ship for a moment longer before he started down the loading access ramp to the hatch way. Inside the outer hatch, Hankura stopped before the inner air lock and pressed the ship's com courtesy signal. Then he waited.
"First Mate Norsen here. May I help you," a voice responded in heavily accented Galactic Common. However, the com screen before him remained blank, but Hankura sensed the other man was looking at him.
"I sure hope so," Hankura replied, crossing his arms in leaning against the wall and a relaxed manner to wait. Although he sensed some activity of board and the presence of several people---including an average level telepath, courtesy restrained him from really delving into their minds any further. The Normals would probably not notice the difference, but the telepath would. Hankura couldn’t afford to bias any of them against him before he even had a chance to state this proposal.
About five minutes later, the inner air lock slid open and the Aledan straightened to a more dignified position. Two men came through the air lock; a tall black man with a well-groomed dark beard and mustache and piercing brown eyes, and a boyish faced young man with thick red hair in even more fiery then Chelle's.
The black man was the telepath Hankura's had sensed aboard the a Sential Trader. " Good day, Hankura," he spoke in thickly accented Galactic Common. "I’m Jake, ships navigator an interpreter. This is Captain Otian." He gestured to the smaller man beside him. "But now that we stand face to face, I sense my services are not needed."
"Otian," Jake said, switching to a lesser used dialect with roots in Aledan. "Our visitor is a high level telepath, as high as me. So I think I ca
n safely leave this to you."
The young man looked at the navigator querulously and slid a leery glance in Hankura's direction. But the Aledan grinned back half mockingly, resting long slender hands over his hip bones.
"Good day, Otian," Hankura offered in the sub Aledan dialect. "I don't think we'll have any problems. I also speak seven other languages fluently. However, my situation will take some time to explain. May I buy you and drink in the lounge?"
"Uh---sure." Otian answered slowly. Turning to his navigator, he added, "okay, Jake. I guess I can handle this myself. I'll be back in a while"
"Okay, kid. I’ll be here if you want me. See you later." His companion murmured amiably as he turned and retreated to the inner hatch way.
"Well, what can I do for you?" Otian asked bluntly. Norsen said Almed the broker referred you to us. Did he also lay out the situation for you?"
"He did." Hankura nodded, eyeing the wiry, shorter man's speculatively. His fiery hair, freckles, and boyish features made him look very young to be a starship captain. Otian looked a good ten years younger than his 27 years. However, although he looked very young, Hankura's sensed in him an inner strength born of the responsibility of his position and the turns life’s path had taken him.
"I know about your ship." Hankura went on after a long moment. "That's why I'm here. I think we can help each other."
Otian cocked his head upward inquisitively, and Hankura didn't miss the flicker of hope and the young man's pale green eyes.
" Let's walk and I'll tell you what I have in mind." The Aledan gestured subtly toward the loading ramp. Otian nodded in agreement and fell into step beside him as they started up the ramp.
They walked in silence for some time before Hankura spoke again. "It's very simple really, Captain Otian. You need a star drive and we need passage to Velran as soon as possible." He said in low tones. "I am in a position to provide the credits you need in order to clear up your outstanding debts and repair your star drive. Now I will do this in exchange for passage for my family and me to Velran---plus a percentage of your gross profit in return until my investment is repaid over expenses."
