Kri spoke before Tirikitirik could. “We want only to cross your space. I’m searching for another human who has stolen something from us. It is very important that we find her and bring her home.”
Keltupelek considered Kri’s words for a moment before a slow smile crossed his face. “Well, I would consider granting your request. First, you will entertain me. Do you arm wrestle?”
Kri tried to hold his start at the change in the direction of the conversation in check. “Ah, well, I don’t think I ever have.”
“Then surely, you fight. Tirikitirik tells me you are a capable warrior.” Keltupelek pointed into the room at a tall, wiry Etyrni. “Oktikilika, come here, cut this human to pieces for my amusement. His lies offend me.” The indicated Etyrni was female. She nodded and walked with a feline, almost sensual grace towards the raised area where Keltupelek and his bodyguards stood.
Kri felt himself panicking. He was about to say something when Scya said, “Wait, Captain Kri can’t fight a female. Let me fight her instead.”
Kri saw Tirikitirik give a slight nod and Kerplunk nodded with a smile. “Very good. Let the two females fight. Clear a space. Knives to submission.”
Scya gave Kri a tight smile. “Can’t have you getting your face all cut up, eh, Captain?”
Kri helped Scya strip off her pack and utility belt. “Don’t get killed, Corporal.”
She nodded grimly. “I don’t intend to.” She pulled her long fighting knife from her belt and dropped the rest on the floor. She turned to face the Etyrni. Both women dropped into fighting stances After a few seconds of eyeing each other warily, Scya moved first, a high, probing attack to feel her opponent out. Oktikilika parried handily and reversed her knife, quickly giving Scya a shallow cut on her wrist. Scya bit off a soft curse and moved in more aggressively. Her knife flashed in directly towards Oktikilika’s face. The Etyrni ducked and slugged Scya in the abdomen. Kri thought Scya was done for, but she seemed entirely unaffected by the powerful blow. With the Etyrni low, Scya brought her knife around and gave her a long slice along her back. Blood began to flow heavily from the wound.
Scya danced back before she could receive a cut in return. The two circled each other for a moment. Keltupelek cheered, along with most of his guards. “I see you are fighters, after all, Captain. I feared you only hid behind technology.”
Kri turned his attention from the fight for a moment and said, “Many of us are expert hand to hand fighters. Some of us are not. I suspect it is much the same with you.”
Keltupelek nodded. “So it is. Among our kind, it is important that we are able to defend ourselves in any situation.”
“It’s the same for us,” Kri said. His attention turned back to the fight. Both women had landed additional, but superficial, wounds while Kri had been talking to Keltupelek. Scya stepped in and tried to insert her knife into Oktikilika’s hand. The Etyrni moved back, but not fast enough as Scya spun and landed a blistering roundhouse kick to Oktikilika’s side. The Etyrni woman was thrown from her feet. Scya leaped on her before she could recover and punched her soundly in the face with the pommel of her knife.
The Etyrni woman yelled, “Yield, yield,” through the pummeling she was taking. Scya stopped her assault instantly and stood. Oktikilika levered herself up and wobbled slightly. Everyone on the stage was silent, watching to see what happened. Scya sheathed her knife and helped Oktikilika up. The Etyrni woman leaned heavily against the Marine.
She gave Scya a bloody grin and said, “Come, let us put our fight behind us with a drink.”
Scya looked the question over her shoulder at Kri who gave her a nod. Scya addressed Oktikilika, “Good idea. First, let me grab a bandage.” She bent over her pack and, after a moment of rummaging through its contents, pulled a fistful of self-sealing bandages. She handed half of them to Oktikilika, and they went to a table where they set about bandaging each other’s wounds while they were served some kind of drink.
Keltupelek clapped loudly and was quickly joined by everyone in the room. Soon cheers and hoots from the onlookers could be heard. Men and women exchanged money, either won or lost during the contest.
“A good and honest fight, humans of Lashmere. Shared blood and drink will let us be friends.” He clapped Kri on the shoulder. “A pity you and I did not have the opportunity to trade blows.”
Kri decided keeping a strong front up was the best move in response. “Perhaps in the future, we may have the chance.”
“Perhaps,” Keltupelek said. “Now tell me of your desires in the region, and I will see them addressed.” He sat again on his chair and motioned for Kri to join him. Kri turned and looked at the table where Scya and Oktikilika were sitting, grinning at each other over drinks.
Kri said, “We need to cross your space. A… misguided friend of ours has stolen something valuable from us and has left. Her last known location was a system called Yimughi. We may need to make several stops along the way to fuel our engines. If our friend has moved on from there, we may need to continue pursuit through more of your space.”
“It is no small thing you ask, Captain Kri,” Keltupelek said. He grinned and said, “What do you offer us in exchange for this?”
Kri shrugged slightly, “I am certain my government will welcome peaceful relations with close neighbors. Perhaps your government would be willing to consider an exchange of ambassadors?”
“Ambassadors? My translator gives me information about the word, but we have no such person. Our people have no use for such cumbersome governments. They inevitably become slave masters to those they subjugate.”
“How do you manage things like basic services, security, justice,” Kri asked.
“Basic services? Do you mean things like power, water,” Keltupelek asked. When Kri nodded, he continued, “We buy them. People who want to make money providing such things work to make them available to everyone else. Justice is dispensed by the hand of those wronged. There are few true crimes among our people.”
Kri’s mind boggled at the idea. “So, you have no centralized government?”
“No. There are local leaders such as myself who hold influence, but there is little true power in such a position. My word carries weight only so far as people have heard of me and may fear reprisal if my wishes are not honored.” Keltupelek grinned broadly. “For me, it is a very long way. I am feared and respected by many Etyrni for many light years.” He tilted his head back and laughed at the idea. “Many of my enemies have been killed or neutralized. Many others have joined me after seeing the error of opposing me.”
“What about other things like mental illness or physical disability?”
“Mental illness? Again, you bring strange combinations of words to me. You suggest that there may be those of us who have somehow broken their minds? Do you accuse us of such weakness?”
Kri saw Keltupelek’s eyebrows drawing down to a point just above the bridge of his nose. “Of course not, Keltupelek. It is a thing that occasionally affects humans. I was giving no accusation.”
Keltupelek nodded to himself and said, “Ah, I see. Sometimes one of us is injured in battle and loses a limb or survives an injury that leaves them unable to take care of themselves. Those people are cast out of society and forced to live on the charity of others. Each Etyrni gives a small part of their earnings to help such pathetic beings. It is the most basic sign of strength an Etyrni can give. By willingly diminishing our own earnings, we demonstrate we are strong enough to earn more than we need.”
“We have a very similar practice on Lashmere. We call it taxes.” Kri barked a laugh. “I guess it is voluntary, but we complain about it a lot.”
Keltupelek grinned at Kri. “We often complain about it as well. Those who give the most relative to their earning are often lauded as powerful members of our society. They gain respect and honor from the giving.”
“It sounds like a very sensible way to do things. Who administers the funds?”
“A computer. Anyone can take from it
, but to do so is a public admission of weakness and those who do so are shunned and shamed. Those who have no choice must endure the shaming of others to survive.”
Kri nodded thoughtfully. “That sounds like a kind of strength in itself.”
Keltupelek gave him a sharp look. “You grasp our ways quickly, human. You are quite correct. A man who loses an arm or a leg may somehow find himself able to live without taking from the computer, but most of us who suffer deformity or loss of ability must sometimes use the given money.”
“How about medicine or scientific research. Do your people have such things?”
“What manner of barbarians do you think we are, Captain,” Keltupelek asked.
“I meant no offense. What I meant to say is how do you go about doing these things in your society.”
“It is good you do not apologize like some cringing coward, and wise that you do not seek to offend me.” Keltupelek gave Kri a broad smile, which Kri returned. “We have doctors and scientists. Those who find such pursuits of interest can learn and work in those professions. We Etyrni have a remarkable educational system. You learn and grow in your chosen profession. If you succeed, you thrive and earn, and if you fail, you become destitute and must seek another way of living. It is more complex, but that is the simplest way of describing how such things work.”
“Interesting,” Kri said. How do you handle relations with other races that have more structured governments?”
“By reputation, mostly,” Keltupelek said. “For example, the Alliance of five races. They are all cowards. There may be some brave warriors among them, although I doubt it. We know they will run if challenged, but they also have a high level of scientific advancement and many advanced technologies. We often trade with them for things we’re good at.”
“Like what,” Kri asked.
“Mostly fighting and labor. They have an ongoing war with the Ulef. Unfortunately, the Alliance is only in the Ulef’s way. They’re really after the Woduur.”
Kri was starting to see how things fit together in this area of the galaxy. “The Ulef and Woduur don’t attack you?”
“Absolutely not. They both fear us. Not that they couldn’t harm us if they attacked us, but there are more than seventy trillion Etyrni in a four hundred light year radius of our home systems. If they were to attack us, we could obliterate them utterly.
Kri gaped. Seventy trillion. “Wow. You are a prolific species.”
Keltupelek nodded. “And thus, you see our true strength as an empire. You are permitted to pass through our space. I will pass along my impressions of the humans of Lashmere into the public record. You are a race of warriors and not without honor. And from what Tirikitirik tells me, you also have a sense of humor. Now, you will come and drink with my friends and me. Then we will let you leave to chase your friend.”
Chapter 12
Harpy and Gorgon met at the first jump out point twenty light years from the Xalcek system. Patho was lying in the infirmary aboard Harpy. Lieutenant Ingram, the medical officer aboard the Harpy, was standing near Patho when he woke up.
“What… where am I?” Patho croaked out.
Ingram turned. Patho noticed he had pale blue eyes and light brown hair. “Welcome back, Captain. How are you feeling?” The medical officer produced a warm smile.
“I’m thirsty. My head is pounding. What happened?” Patho put a hand on his forehead.
“The Alliance used a drug to lower your emotional inhibitions. You’ve said some pretty remarkable things over the last several hours, but mostly you slept.”
“I hope I didn’t embarrass myself too much,” Patho said. “Could I have some water, please?”
“Of course, Captain.” Ingram handed Patho a large plastic container of iced water. Patho sat up and sucked it down greedily.
“Thank you. Where are we?”
“Captain Fuchs is on his way down. He’ll explain things to you.”
Patho nodded. Ingram excused himself to his other duties. Patho didn’t have to wait long. A few minutes later, Fuchs came in through the doors of the infirmary.
“How are you doing, Captain Patho?” Fuchs’ dark eyes showed concern.
“Better. Where’s Mister Aves?”
Fuchs pointed to a part of the infirmary behind a small isolation curtain. “Sleeping about five meters from you. What do you remember from Xalcek?”
“Um, well, a lot of it is pretty hazy. I remember talking to a Gol.” He shuddered suddenly. “Those guys are scary looking. I don’t remember why, but for some reason, I thought he was a great person to talk to at that time. I think he told me he’d used some drugs on me. That probably explains why I feel hung over now.”
Fuchs nodded. “From what the doc told me, what they used is pretty similar to alcohol.” The term doc was an affectation that any medical officer in the Lashmere military was given. “The aftereffects are staying in your bloodstream longer and causing more general havoc with your systems. Doc Ingram tells me you’ll be fine in another day or two. Commander Hilleman has been kept apprised of your status. You’ll be ready to go back aboard any time now, sir.”
Ingram stepped forward. “Mister Aves is awake as well.” He swept the curtain aside, revealing Aves sitting up on a narrow bed.
Patho grinned at the Marine. “Aves! I see the doc managed to trap you here in his lair as well.”
“Darned insidious, these Navy doctors,” Aves said wryly.
Patho said, “What’s our status, Captain Fuchs? Where are we?”
“We’re twenty light years from Xalcek. We decided not to jump directly towards Lashmere in case the Alliance went looking for us. We’ve stopped to refit Gorgon with a new power control net.”
Patho frowned. “Why are we putting in a new power control net?” Fuchs quickly explained what had happened when Aeternum left the Lashmere system. Patho couldn’t keep his astonishment from his voice. “Wow. I’m glad we were able to get the ships working again so quickly. How long will it take to get Gorgon retrofitted with the new power control network?”
“Well, we’ve been here for about ten hours so the job should be nearly done. By the time you’re back aboard, we should be ready to depart.” Fuchs looked at Ingram. “Is Captain Patho ready for discharge?”
Ingram nodded. “Yes, sir.” Ingram addressed Patho. “It’s likely that you’ll have a persistent headache for another day or so. It’s just the remaining byproducts of the drug they injected into you. Just take regular pain killers and let your ship’s medic know if it continues past that point. He’ll be conducting some additional blood tests to ensure you make a full recovery.”
Patho smiled and said, “You’re the doc.” Fuchs excused himself to head back to the bridge. Patho slid off of the bed to his feet and started rummaging in the locker by the bed looking for new clothes. “Why do hospitals always make you wear these outfits,” he asked rhetorically, looking at the one piece jump suit. He pulled the curtain closed to get changed.
A few minutes later, Patho was standing with Aves in the boat bay. They watched as the space doors opened, and a pinnace from Gorgon drifted in. The airlock soon chimed a good seal, and Patho stepped through with Aves. He saw his executive officer; Glen Hilleman was piloting the small craft.
“Hello, Captain. I thought I’d give you a brief on the flight back to Gorgon.” Patho nodded and strapped himself into the copilot’s seat. Aves slid into the seat at the aft science station.
Patho said, “Very well. Let’s get underway and then you can tell me what’s been happening.”
The pinnace cleared Harpy’s boat bay and was soon on course to dock with Gorgon. “We received a burst transmission from you not long after you landed. We detected increased activity on the surface and what we thought might be a small fight near one of the walls. The analysis indicates this is the time you were captured.”
“We did have a short fight, but we were quickly overwhelmed. We were stripped of all our gear and left in a cell for a few hours. After th
at, Aves and I were separated and interrogated. Fuchs showed up with his marines and rescued us.”
Gorgon loomed out of the blackness outside the pinnace. ”The burst transmission had a massive amount of data in it. We’ve been decompressing it and decrypting everything into a stand alone database,” Hilleman said.
“We made good progress with the data retrieval tools. One thing I think we need to do in the future is to include a dedicated computer specialist in any infiltration team. The automated tools are good, and, clearly, they work, but I’m sure we missed a lot of stuff a trained technician would see.”
Hilleman nodded absently as he slid the pinnace into its berth. The airlock sealed and chimed the all clear signal. “I presume you’ll want to get some rack time, sir. We just about have the retrofitting complete. I don’t think we’ll need you for several more hours. Captain Fuchs plans to return to Lashmere directly to let them know we’re a few hours behind and that they’ve successfully rescued you. He is taking a copy of the data you captured to Lashmere.”
“Good thinking.” Patho exited the pinnace and headed to his stateroom. He passed out after taking some pain killers and drinking a large glass of water.
The next morning, feeling thoroughly refreshed and now absent any headache, Patho walked onto the bridge. The area was filled with the usual hum of quiet, purposeful activity expected on an operational warship. Patho saw Lieutenant Guiles sitting in the command chair. Guiles started to get up when he saw Patho, but Patho waived for him to remain seated.
“I’m just checking in before I take a look at the power distribution system. Have we completed installation of the new modules?”
“Yes, sir. The engineering team finished last night.” The engineering ‘team’ was three people that shared the duties of monitoring the reactor and maintaining all of the systems on the ship.
“Very well. I’ll be back up in a few minutes.” Patho strode off of the bridge and walked through the familiar passageways of Gorgon. He trailed his hand appreciatively along the newly installed power control network. The news that Aeternum had built in power control nodes that could be remotely disabled was unsettling. It was fortunate that humans were ingenious enough to overcome the Woduur’s security measure.
The Deadly Pact Page 17
