Your transportation has arrived, Ankh noted using the internal comm chips relayed through Spinal Tap’s system as a check to make sure they were functional.
The group delivered a variety of replies. All except the dentist, who lacked the chip.
“Doc says ‘Roger,’” Rivka said for him. She hammered the hatch release with her fist and stepped in front of the outer door.
“Damn it, Magistrate!” Red shoved his way to the front as the first light appeared through the opening hatch. “Can’t have you getting shot before you step foot on the planet.”
“There would be a penalty to your paycheck,” Rivka quipped, leaning back to allow Red to get in front.
He was first out the door and down the one step before hitting the pavement, stopping once there to scan for threats. “Stay close,” he whispered over his shoulder. Rivka was right behind him, with Lindy close after. Jay, and finally Tyler left the ship. Chaz secured the hatch once the team was clear.
An aerial transport cab waited. Rectangular in shape, it was completely automated, with preset destinations based on the requestor’s needs.
Ankh, can you make sure this thing doesn’t run us astray? Rivka requested.
Red led the way to the vehicle, head whipping back and forth as he maintained his vigilance.
Already on it, Ankh replied in his emotionless voice. If it receives a changed destination, what are your instructions?
Track it to its source while we go to the new location. Depending on where that is, we might need to retake control. I don’t want to go off the grid. Even with this august group of warriors, the crime lords could dump us in an active volcano or somewhere equally unsavory. They had Candi and the one guard suicide when the slavers were nowhere near.
Noted, Ankh stated. Rivka knew he would keep them from being murdered as a group, but his ambiguous answers always ruffled her feathers. She wondered if he did it on purpose.
Probably not. Humans and the emotionally like-minded sentient races were probably as much a mystery to him as Crenellians were to them.
Thanks, Ankh, she allowed, knowing that he wouldn’t reply.
The central area of the cab was for standing passengers, while seats followed a line around the inside of the walls. They entered the cab and filled the seats beneath the windows.
“We’re pretty exposed,” Red said to no one in particular.
“There’s no way we won’t be,” Rivka remarked. The cab took off smoothly and accelerated toward the sky. Some traffic crawled along the ground, but most of the vehicles were airborne, giving the impression of stacks of traffic separated by a minimum amount of space.
“That’s a lot of people,” Jay said.
The dentist was all eyes as he took in the scenery.
“Don’t get out much, Doc?” Rivka wondered aloud.
“Not to places like this,” he answered, his childlike expression showing his fascination with the strange and wondrous city on the planet known as Mecca. Red and Lindy both frowned at the sheer volume of people.
Jay was trying to enjoy the ride, but as a slave to be sold, she shuddered at the thought of strangers appraising her like a piece of meat. The aircar bucked when it flew through a thermal and her stomach lurched. She covered her mouth to keep from throwing up.
Tyler hugged her to him.
Don’t grow up to be like us, Rivka thought. And as long as there are people like us, you won’t have to.
Rivka, rejoicing in the courage of her convictions, the foundation of her legal knowledge, and the abilities of those around her, set her jaw and watched the sprawling city go by. She wanted to answer the question of why she did this work. Besides Jhiordaan waiting for her had she turned down the High Chancellor, she was committed to Justice. Her gift wasn’t hers, but to be used for the benefit of the galaxy.
The cab is on track to arrive at the original destination in three minutes, Ankh reported.
“Three minutes to touchdown. Mister Ch'ta'ka should be waiting for us somewhere down there.”
Ankh had found the name in the only bits he could recover of a single deleted file within the nav computer of Spinal Tap. The Crenellian didn’t believe in coincidences, so he’d had Erasmus make contact with Ch'ta'ka. The meeting had been arranged through a single message that received a one-word answer. “Done.”
“I have no idea what to expect, so stay frosty, people. And keep her under guard. We can’t have her running off before we close the deal.” The Magistrate assumed the cab was bugged and that someone was listening in. They’d given nothing away so far, and would do what they had to in order to maintain appearances.
“She won’t be going anywhere, Candi,” Red replied, rolling his shoulders as he always did to get ready for expected action. He got up and bounced on the balls of his feet, and Lindy did the same as the adrenaline started to pump. Rivka stared out the window at the landing site they were approaching. Jay looked at the floor of the aircar, and the dentist watched her.
“Calmly,” Rivka warned. Jay and Tyler both looked up and blinked away their hesitation. “Put on your game faces.”
The cab touched down, and Red was first off. The others tumbled out behind him, staying in a tight circle. Rivka worked her way to the front, and they fell into the formation that Lindy had described earlier. Red and Lindy each kept one hand inside their jackets as they held onto their weapons. To the casual observer, it could have looked like a bluff.
To anyone who met their gaze, it would have been obvious that it was not. Rivka marched boldly toward the entrance that led from the pad.
The aerial cab lifted off.
No turning back now.
Check, check, Ankh are you there? Rivka asked.
I am, the Crenellian replied.
Do you have eyes on us?
I do not. There are no cameras observing this pad. The last image I have is from the cab.
We’ll have to do this the hard way. We’re going in. I’ll stay in touch.
Rivka’s smile was tight-lipped as she approached the door. A single dark-green alien appeared, holding out one of its four tentacle-like arms. It had an oversized head with two antennae, bug-eyes, and a tiny slit for a mouth. A metallic box hung around its neck.
“Hand her over,” demanded a voice through the box. Rivka couldn’t tell if the bug creature was talking or it was someone else and the bug was only transport for the communication device.
It motioned like a human, waving with one arm while pointing at Jay with another.
“We need to talk.”
“No change. Hand her over,” the voice from the box insisted.
“No change to what?”
“Same deal. Hand her over.”
Rivka reached behind her and grabbed Jay by the arm. She winked at the young woman before she yanked her forward.
“Fine. Here you go.” Rivka held Jay steady, keeping the girl slightly behind her as they approached the alien. The Magistrate let go of her arm and grabbed one of the tentacles. “Who do you work for?”
The alien recoiled quickly, but images popped into her mind. The box was a translator. The alien was the recovery thug. He would take her somewhere nearby for a handoff to other aliens.
Rivka jumped to get the best angle and powered a right cross into the bug’s face. It collapsed onto itself, dazed by the blow. She hurried past it so the others could get out of the open. Red quickly secured the alien and tossed him aside, then started to walk away but stopped. He returned and removed the translator from around the alien’s neck.
Rivka whispered to Jay, “Run down to the end, take a left, and follow it all the way to the bottom. There should be somebody down there. Take a look and then come back. I want to know what we’re up against. The more we know, the fewer people will get hurt.”
Jay looked at the corridor leading away from the door to the landing pad. She nodded and sprinted away, disappearing after the first couple of steps.
“Holy crap!” the dentist exclaimed. Jay reapp
eared before the last word was uttered.
“Three of them. One like the alien who met us and two four-legged Yollins.”
“Yollins? And upper-class ones, at that. What kind of muscle did they have?”
“I didn’t see anyone.”
“How can you tell they’re upper-class?” Tyler asked. Rivka ignored him as she concocted a plan.
Red tapped the dentist on the shoulder and held a finger to his lips. He whispered, “Lower-class only have two legs.”
“The Yollins can’t tell us what we need to know. Humans all look alike to them,” Rivka explained.
“But they’re expecting that guy,” Tyler pointed to the bound alien.
“So right,” she replied. “Won’t be the first time we’ve had to bluff. Everyone ready?”
“What does that mean?” the dentist asked again, alarm overtaking his features.
Red held his finger to his lips again but didn’t speak. He only shook his head. Tyler understood. He moved to the back of the group and stood immediately behind Jay, while Red and Lindy flanked her. Rivka strode boldly out front.
“Walk like we’re supposed to be here. With a purpose, people,” she encouraged. They stepped up to keep pace. She turned the corner and continued down the corridor. There were no exits. It led to only one place, and that had two Yollins and a third alien. She fixed them with her best stare and continued toward them.
The aliens were confused. They shuffled around briefly.
“Ho, there!” Rivka called. “Fuck that lackey you sent to meet me. I deliver in person!”
One of the Yollins stepped forward. “Stay where you are!” he ordered.
“Fuck you, too, buddy,” she shot back, storming up to him despite his weapon being aimed at her. “Who do you work for?”
She grabbed his arm with one hand and tried to rip the weapon from his other, but he wouldn’t let go. They struggled while she listened in on his thoughts. Shocked, she stepped back.
“Fuck you, human!” The Yollin backed away. The three of them continued to walk backward until they disappeared into an elevator.
“Why did you let them go?” Red asked.
“I...I have what I need. We have to get back to the ship now!”
Ankh, call us a cab and prepare for immediate departure. Forget the cab. Have Chaz fly the shuttle over here and pick us up right fucking now!
May I ask why? Ankh queried before adding, Stairs are retracted. We have lift-off. Spinal Tap will be there in two minutes at maximum acceleration.
We’ll discuss it after we leave orbit.
“What’s going on?” Tyler asked as the group jogged up the corridor on their way to the exit. The alien was still bound, but he was awake. They didn’t give him a second look as they passed, leaving him where he was.
The shuttle appeared as a dot in the distance that was screaming past the other air traffic. It avoided getting in an accident, performing a high-gee maneuver to stop in a hover above the pad, then it dropped to the pad and the hatch opened. The team hurried aboard. Chaz was already airborne again before the hatch secured. He pointed the nose upward, racing for orbit and beyond.
“Straight to Peacekeeper, Chaz,” the Magistrate ordered.
Red and Lindy gave Rivka her space. Jay and Tyler wanted to know why the operation was canceled so abruptly.
Rivka’s lips turned white from clamping them shut. She tried to relax, but she was having trouble. She closed her eyes and tried to force herself to be calm. “In his mind, I saw some of the people he was working for. One of them was the High Chancellor.”
Chapter Twelve
No one spoke until after they rendezvoused with Peacekeeper. Even then, Rivka kept her own counsel. As soon as they boarded, they ditched the long-range shuttle at the edge of Fenek’s space. Rivka stormed the bridge, carried Ankh out, and secured the door behind her.
The Crenellian looked as stoic as usual. He turned to Red, craning his neck to look up at the big man.
“She needs to have a private conversation with Grainger, I suspect,” Red offered. “I think the High Chancellor is involved somehow.”
Ankh studied Red as if questioning the veracity of his claim. Once he realized that he was sincere, Ankh replied, “I don’t.”
He moved to the kitchen, where the blank look on his face suggested he was talking to Erasmus. The food processor dinged, and a hot meal appeared.
“Why can’t you hook us up with some of that?” Red pleaded.
“By ‘us,’ you mean you. There’s only a limited amount of source matter for these types of meals. You would consume it all in a matter of hours. If only I eat them, it will last weeks.”
“You’re a little dude,” Red blurted. Lindy slapped her forehead.
“That’s not the point.”
“What I hear is that we need more of that source matter. Tell me what it is and I’ll get it, come hell or high water. Then will you share?”
“Probably not.”
“You little cretin!”
“So big, and you haul around such a tiny brain. What a shame.” Ankh stood with his tiny legs shoulder-width apart and stared the big man down.
Lindy smiled at the Crenellian. He didn’t respond.
Red started to reach for him, but Lindy caught his arm. Red looked ashamed.
“I’m sorry, Ankh. You are a bigger man than me.” Red returned to the rec room and set up the weight bench, in search of a way to burn off the energy that coursed through his veins. He didn’t know what would come of the Magistrate’s conversation. He didn’t even know with whom she’d be talking. His job was to be ready when she took action.
He started pounding out reps.
“Let me know what you need to source the food processor, and we’ll obtain as much of it as the system can hold,” Lindy said softly, taking a knee so she could look the Crenellian in the eye.
Jay appeared with the dentist. “If you give us a list of meals, we can build a supply to have a set menu. I don’t think ‘catch as catch can’ and ‘grab what you want’ are keeping us close as a crew. We should have set meals, and that way, we can help Floyd to keep from overeating. She’s gotten a little plump since she’s joined the crew.”
No! More pizza, Floyd called.
“I think what you meant to say was no more pizza, and you’d be right. A lean Floyd is a happy Floyd.”
Snorting and grunting, the wombat shuffled away.
“A gorged Floyd is a happy Floyd, just like a gorged Red,” the big man remarked. “It takes a lot of fuel to run this engine.”
Everyone looked at him. No one said anything.
Finally, the dentist asked what they were all thinking but trying to avoid. “Do we have to go after the High Chancellor now?”
“Why do you always call in the middle of the night?”
“Because that’s when the shit that’s out of my control happens,” Rivka replied.
“Tell me again what you think you saw?”
“That’s pretty demeaning. I’ll tell you what I saw. How we interpret it could have a significant impact on the galaxy. Do we bring General Reynolds or Nathan Lowell in on it?”
“In on what?” Grainger asked.
“The High Chancellor figuring prominently in the mind of a slave trader!” Rivka exclaimed.
“Describe it again,” Grainger said patiently as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes.
“I asked a four-legged Yollin who he worked for. In his mind were images of other Yollins and Corranites, and an image of the High Chancellor appeared before he pulled away. I only asked the one question. The way it works is, the questions bring their thoughts to the surface. The stronger the surprise, the less guarded they are. If they are ready for it, their thoughts are about how they want to murder me or the like. It can be disturbing. If anyone ever offers you the power to see into someone else’s mind, turn them down.”
“I understand, Zombie. I wouldn’t want that. Back to what you saw. Did this Yollin meet with the Hi
gh Chancellor?”
“The memories were his, seen through his own eyes.”
“Do you have pictures of the Yollin?” Grainger asked.
“No. We were undercover and traveling lean. We didn’t know what kind of counter-surveillance technology they had, so we didn’t risk it.”
“You have no evidence?”
“I have all the evidence a Magistrate needs, which is what I personally saw.”
“Which is nothing. Are you willing to drop it?”
“Are you smoking xinqal weed?”
“Not smoking anything. What do you want to do?”
“And that’s why I called—because I have no idea. Why was High Chancellor Wyatt talking with traffickers?”
“They are Yollins. His office is on Yoll. It could have been any function the High Chancellor attended.”
“We need to ask him,” Rivka declared. “But discreetly...”
Grainger grunted his understanding of the situation. “By ‘we,’ you mean me. And by ‘discreetly,’ you mean that I need to go to Yoll and talk to the High Chancellor in person. Send me your report on this case, as much as you have.”
Rivka nodded her agreement. “I owe you one. You can’t imagine how much grief this is causing me.”
“Because we like to believe that those in charge of us are as upright as we are?”
“A system with corrupt people is corrupted, no matter what they say. It would call into question everything we’ve done. We would go down with our higher-ups. The Federation can’t withstand something like that. The scumbag power brokers would fill the leadership void. How many would die from such a societal collapse? We need a solid framework within which everyone can work. It’s like a contract where one party doesn’t trust the other and there are no enforceability provisions.”
“It wouldn’t be worth the digital space it occupied.”
“Looks like I’m going to the royal city of Khn’Chik on Yoll,” Grainger grumbled briefly before continuing. “Gotta go, Zombie. Send me that report. Expect the best, prepare for the worst.”
“What do you mean by that?” Rivka asked, leaning forward to glare at the screen.
Slave Trade Page 11
