Windjammer: The Tradership Saga Book 1

by M J Gauntlet

  UG 5017.01.006

  Search program identifies and tracks Grayson to robohostel near space field. This agent has determined that target is planning to leave Bright and is in direct possession of artifact(s). An impromptu team plan is made, involving this agent and two local amateur criminals.

  UG 5017.01.007

  Grayson is waylaid by the locals and the belongings believing to hold the artifact(s) are acquired. Upon examination of property and having negative results, this agent has determined that artifact(s) are in the possession of Grayson. Hirelings Terminated. As this agent confronts target, crewpersons from the tradership Windjammer arrive before Grayson can be terminated and the artifact(s) retrieved. This agent discovered that Grayson is headed for the planet Plato in the Ursa Minor system, where he was to “deliver something to an old friend of my father’s.” It is this agent’s belief that the ‘something’ to be delivered is the artifact(s).

  CONCLUSION:

  This agent suggests that efforts be made to intercept Zaxxion Grayson, either before or after his arrival on Plato. Warning: There are indications that the ISB has become aware that Zaxxion Grayson is in possession of either knowledge or item(s) that are important to the Empire. It is possible that our agents might intersect with those of the IBM.

  END OF REPORT

  The Enlarged holographic image of M’Lak van Drayton winked out and was immediately followed by a chorus of outraged comments.

  “Unacceptable” … “Intolerable” … “Outrageous ineptitude” … The voices rang out around the room. A huge, round, obsidian black, stone table veined with golden striations, dominated the room. Around this table sat various members of the Marcosian Restoration Worlds religious hierarchy, the military’s senior officers and the Marcosian Secret Service. A gong rang out, filling the wood paneled room with a soft mellow note. The raucous voices immediately quieted, and all heads turned to look at the white robed, ancient looking, woman sitting in the throne like chair at the head of the table.

  “Shirrs, let there be peace amongst us. Goddess be praised.”

  “Goddess be praised!” every voice intoned.

  “Prefect of Security Chemayek, please continue with the report on the missing artifact,” she said with a nod, to the woman sitting next to her on her right.

  “Yes, First Lady.” The dark, raven-haired woman cleared her throat and turned to face the other men and women around the table. Rising out of her contragrav chair, she bowed slightly to the ensemble and began speaking. Her gene-sculpted body was the best that gene engineers could provide. She was tall (but not too tall) and had ample breasts and hips. Her creamy tanned skin was alive with a myriad of tattoos that moved constantly across her body, which was clothed only to hide the parts considered by her race to be erotic. The tattoos themselves were considered adequate enhancement and covering in most Marcosian social circles. The only disconcerting feature of that perfect body were the eyes. They had been replaced by cold silicon lenses that seemed to glow with a feline ambiance. It was quite unnerving to look at, which was characteristic of her reasoning for having the surgery performed.

  “Since there have been a few new faces added to the sacred circle, I will briefly recap the current state of affairs.” This comment was followed by an uneasy shifting around the room as several persons looked nervously at the three new members of the ‘circle’.

  Their predecessors had paid the price for failure after the disaster at New Madagascar. Chemayek smiled inwardly. She had warned the former Admiral of the Fleet Osco and General Bennett, that her intelligence indicated that the accursed Nubians were massing in the disputed territories and for them not to underestimate their abilities or their determination. Showing the distain that all military types had for information garnered by ‘spies’, they pushed her objections aside. The surprise counterattack, caught the erstwhile admiral by surprise and the landed ground forces were decimated on planet Zaire. The sudden appearance of two squadrons of cruisers that were hiding in stealth, forced the invasion fleet to withdraw, giving the accursed Nubians yet another world to add to its slowly growing sphere of worlds. Chemayek could only hope that the replacement admiral and general haved learned from the late Osco and Bennett’s mistakes.

  In rising out of her chair, Chemayek had chosen to take to her feet in the old style of personally addressing the assemblage, rather than to sitting back and using an imager. Doing this, forced those present to focus on her, rather than a screen image.

  “Approximately thirty-five standard T-years ago, a scout ship of the Unity Imperium of Worlds apparently discovered a X’haChe artifact or device deep in uncharted space. I use the word ‘apparently’ because, for reasons known only to the scout pilot, all knowledge and data of the discovery was suppressed from his conscious memory. Upon return to Unity space, the pilot reported that his A.I. scout vessel was lost in an uncharted region of space and that he was forced to take an escape lifepod, to navigate back to known space. Upon his return he was, of course, brain scanned and although the scan revealed a few anomalies, it was determined that the pilot had been accurate in his account of the incident and was subsequently released from service, on a medical discharge. Afterward, the scout pilot disappeared within the Imperium worlds and was forgotten.

  “In the intervening years, scientists of the imperium developed a new brain scanning technique for use on its military. Those brain scans that had previously shown anomalies were then scheduled to be rescanned using this new method. About a year ago, Ezekiel Grayson’s scan came up for review at the Imperial Medical base on Azure, where it was discovered that his former preliminary scan was, in fact, a deception.

  “It was revealed that the ex-scout had discovered a new artifact of the X’haChe and that this information had been consciously withheld from the Unity authorities. Somehow, this scout was able to override or disengage his ship’s A.I.’s restrictive matrix collar and with the help of the now freed A.I., was able to circumvent the Imperial brain scans. The memories of his encounter where suppressed deep into the pilot’s subconscious mind, and a new set of memories overlaid the true memories. Why the scout pilot decided to take this course of action, and exactly how he was able to suborn his A.I. to assist him, remains a mystery. Technically, the ability to do what was done to the scout pilot’s brain was far beyond that model’s capabilities.

  As you know, we have agents in place in various military medical facilities throughout the Empire, performing data gathering. One of these agents gained access to this information and was able to suppress it, by deleting the report and terminating the technician who had unearthed it. Unfortunately, the brain scan used to generate the report was only a copy. The original scan is in the main medical data servers on the planet Patroclus. According to the agent, the result of the scan was due for reevaluation within the year.

  “The last communique from the agent, before she was discovered and self-terminated, was that the artifact Grayson had discovered, was not an artifact at all, but instead might have been a remnant of the X’haChe military…an intact, functional battleship!” An audible gasp was heard from the twelve heads around the room, at the incredible revelation.

  No X’haChe warship had ever been discovered by any of the intelligent, spacefaring species of the galaxy. Various X’haChe ancient abandoned outposts and colonies had been uncovered, scattered throughout a vast volume of space. Several current spacefaring civilizations owe a major part of their scientific development to the discovery of pockets of intact X’haChe instrumentalities. It was the finding of a derelict X’haChe scout ship in human space, that became the basis of the skip drive which was later developed into the transitional drive. This discovery had allowed humanity access to the stars. The Krillians found a scanner in an abandoned X’haChe medical facility and it became the origin of their advancements in the field of medicine. There were dozens of similar stories where various civilizations had stumbled across a small portion of X’haChe science. Each discovery had produced gia
nt leaps in that civilization’s scientific knowledge. But despite the dozens of discoveries, there had never been the discovery of any X’haChe military hardware…until now!

  “Point of order, Prefect…” This interruption came from Ron Van Cal, head of Internal Affairs. Chemayek frowned at the disruption, then slowly nodded her head towards the man.

  “Considering the tremendous importance of this discovery, may I ask why the Secret Service has not dedicated more than a single agent to this case? A startlingly incompetent one, at that,” he asked firmly.

  “If I may be allowed to proceed with my report, your question will be answered,” Chemayek replied icily. Returning her glare, Van Cal gave her a curt nod for her to continue. Bitch! He thought. You might have the rest of them cowering with your glowing eyes, but not me. I know you think you will be the next First Lady, but not if I have anything to say about it!

  “As I was saying,” she continued, “the agent at the medical center only recently found out that there was the possibility that the ex-scout had discovered a X’haChe battleship. Before we could obtain clarification, she was detected and captured. During her interrogation, her self- destruct nanites were activated and she was terminated.

  “All the Secret Service had to go on was the name Ezekiel Grayson, who had been missing for the past twenty years. An intensive search was organized that covered all of Unity space, and portions of Killian, Xenias and as well as those areas of accursed Nubian space, where we had viable assets. There were numerous reports generated of false sightings and dead ends. The search was hampered by the necessity of remaining cautious and discreet. We could not afford for the Imperium to learn the importance of the information we were after. It was only a matter of time before the original brain scan was again rescanned and the facts made known to the Unity military and the Impress.

  “A few weeks ago, our agent in the Ta’lib sector, M’Lak Van Drayton, ran across a fax article about a decade old confrontation on the planet Bright between an ex-scout pilot and his accursed Nubian mate in which several citizens and the accursed Nubian were killed. The name of the pilot was listed as Gregson. The agent thought that it might be a local pronunciation of the name Grayson and decided to investigate. Expecting yet another dead end, he discovered that the ex-scout pilot was indeed named Grayson and that he had immigrated to Bright within the last eight or nine years. Well within the timeline of the missing ex-Imperial Scout. Knowing that time was of the essence, Van Drayton concluded that before he contacted the Secret Service, he would hire two Cee assassins to detain and question Grayson to ascertain whether he was indeed the individual we sought.

  “You have all just seen the updated report from agent M’Lak van Drayton stating that he believes that Zaxxion Grayson is carrying some sort of artifact or X’haChe device that will lead to the warship. Now I will admit that Van Drayton could have handled the affair with a little better competence, but remember, not only was he operating with orders to show extreme caution, but he was also working under the nose of the Imperial Special Branch.”

  “His actions in using the Cree, had brought them in to the affair in the first place,” Ron van Cal interjected.

  “Yes, that is true sher Van Cal, and he will be sanctioned for that. Even so, it is my recommendation that M’Lak van Drayton be allowed to remain on the assignment,” Chemayek added, then raising her hands to quell the rising objections, she stared down the assemblage into silence.

  “After all, it was he who originally identified Grayson, and it was he who determined the artifact does indeed exist. It was also Van Drayton who has doggedly traced the artifact to Ezekiel Grayson’s son Zaxxion and discovered his future destination of Plato. It would be counterproductive and delay us further at this point, to assign a new agent, deliver them on site and then have him or her brought up to speed on the facts of the case. It is for these reasons, that it is my belief and recommendation that M’Lak van Drayton be assigned as the lead agent on this case. He should be given access to all materials and resources that the Marcosian Restoration Worlds can provide.”

  “I agree,” Van Cal said, chiming in, “but with one stipulation: that under no circumstances is Zaxxion Grayson be terminated until the artifact that will lead to the X’haChe warship is secured.” Chemayek gave a curt nod of acceptance, although she hated to have another department dictate what the Secret Service should do or not do. Turning to face those seated around the table, she addressed them.

  “All in agreement?” Chemayek said, calling for confirmation.

  “Agreed,” echoed several voices around the room.

  The Quartz Palace

  Military Headquarters Unity Imperial Worlds

  Present: Ms. Owens Director of Military Operations

  Messer Sal Covian, Director of Internal Affairs

  Ms. Irene Obacombu, Director of Military Intelligence

  Messer Kasim Modobu, First Secretary to Her Imperial Highness Empress Ruby McGowan

  Carrie Cromwell the VI of the second Unity of Worlds

  Grand Admiral of the Fleet, Michla Picaro (via secured hologram)

  General Commander Jose Sha’ Taw Quan of Her Majesties Armed forces (via secured hologram) Mr. Blank, Director of Secret Branch

  Director Blank (the only name ever given to the head of Special Branch), keyed his seat’s projector which placed his image on each of the screens.

  “Gentle beings,” Blank said, with a curt nod to those in attendance, “seven T-days ago a report was sent by Special Branch agent, Halleck Hymes reporting a death by apparent Cree assassination, on the planet Bright in the Halcion sector. As you all know, the presence of the Cree in any confrontation on Imperial worlds or territories, automatically generates a response by Special Branch. The report specified that the target of the Cree was an Imperial ex-scout pilot by the name of Ezekiel Grayson. At first indication, the killing seemed to be motivated by revenge. Approximately ten T-years ago, Grayson was involved in an altercation with a mob of rioting citizens in the township of Last Town, in which along with his wife, a Nubian, several citizens were killed. Among those killed, were several scions of prominent Bright families. The Bright legal system unexpectedly exonerated Grayson, and Halleck assumed that these families waited until the furor died down, pooled their resources, and hired two Cree to torture and kill Grayson in revenge. Halleck noted, that upon close study of the report, there were some discrepancies in the findings, but not enough to alter his initial conclusion. In a follow up report, Halleck thought he had uncovered the presence of a Marcosian agent but had insufficient data to directly link the agent with Grayson’s death, the death of a lawyer and some local gang members.

  Since the initial killing involved a member of the Imperial military, the report was sent to Central Headquarters where it was automatically cross-checked and then correlated with past and current data concerning Ezekiel Grayson. During this routine procedure, a startling revelation was made. Using a newly developed Krillian brain scanning technique, it was discovered that Grayson’s initial scan of his last mission…was a deception.

  A startled gasp went around the room. The Krillian brain scan was one of the cornerstones of the Empire. It not only streamlined the judicial system and the political arena, but they insured accurate reportage and the loyalty of the armed forces. Everyone in that room had undergone regular scanning, and in the case of Blank, impromptu scans. The scans tapped directly into the visual cortex of the brain, the pre-frontal lobe, and the hippocampus. First developed by the Krillians, the technique and scientific development has been improved by Unity scientists over the past four T-centuries. While not totally tamper proof, it was deemed practically impossible to interfere with the military imprints that were installed in all scouts and military personnel without leaving behind evidence of the tampering.

  “Unfortunately, the discovery of the falsified implants was not the most alarming development,” Blank said, quelling the outbursts. “It appears that the artificial memories were used t
o obscure a startling discovery… that of a functioning X’haChe warship.” For a full five minutes pandemonium reigned.

  Raising his hands to finally quiet the gathering, Blank continued with his report.

  “From what we can glean from Ezekiel Grayson’s updated brain scan, upon discovering the ship the scout pilot, for reasons only known to him, conspired with the help of his ship’s suborned A.I., to conceal this information from everyone. Evidence suggests, Grayson was able to gain access to a X’haChe artifact that could activate another vessel’s systems. It is possible that there exists a chart or guide to where this ship is located, and this map is in the possession of Grayson’s son, Zaxxion. Ezekiel Grayson’s memory engrams also imply that only Zaxxion can safely access the data. If any other individual makes the attempt, there is a high possibility that whatever contains the data will self-destruct.

  “After receiving Halleck’s reports containing possible Marcosian Restoration World involvement, further investigations have brought to light a seemingly insignificant occurrence. Several months ago, a Marcosian spy was uncovered working in one of the outer Imperial medical facilities. It just so happened that this particular facility was in the process of reviewing previous military personnel scans, which showed anomalies, by using the newly developed scanning protocols. The chief technician had been murdered and suspicion fell on his assistant. She was apprehended and questioned, at which time anti-interrogation nanites activated and the agent expired.

  “Further investigation revealed that the files of several brain scans had been erased, including those of Ezekiel Grayson. I am afraid that the MRW are also in possession of the information about Zaxxion Grayson and the X’haChe vessel,” Blank finished. The room had gone totally silent. He waited a full thirty seconds, to allow the full import of what he had just said to sink in.