Galactic Vengeance

by M. Garnet

  Chapter Nineteen

  The card game rooms were interesting at this worldwide casino. There were rooms for beginners and rooms for hopefuls. There were fancy rooms for high rollers, and then there were dark rooms in the basement for the type of players that believed anything goes. It was at one of these tables—in the gloom that Keenan was happy and showing a very large pile of holo chips.

  Usually, he played very slow, not wanting to overdo his talents. But in this particular casino, he tried to catch the attention of the casino as a big winner. An unhappy drunk across from him was making a fuss, accusing Keenan of cheating.

  Some would say he was cheating, but not in the way that the drunk was muttering and accusing him. He didn't have any hidden cards, and he didn't have someone exchanging cards under the table. He had not kept cards from one hand to use in the next that was a common trick some cheaters used.

  What he did, was feeling the emotions of the people in the game. They were open to him, especially as they slipped into the influence of drinks or drugs. Before this man had decided to create a scene, the cards and been dealt, and Keenan didn't look at his. Keenan sat back in the stiff chair and watched each of the five others look at what they had been dealt. What he felt was what each player observed when they saw what they had received. There was a disappointment, disgust, anger from the drunk, surprise, pleasure, and again disappointment and some indifference.

  From this flow of emotions, he finally glanced at his cards and decided instead to bet or finally throw away the hand. When it came to the drunk, who had been bluffing, he could drive the idiot into betting all the coin in his bank. That led the male to finally deciding, that after making many stupid bets, and losing to everyone at the table, that someone was cheating. Since he had lost most of his coin to Keenan, he aimed his anger at that tall man.

  Sliding his chair back a few inches, Keenan slowly opened his leather jacket. It was not meant to show off his bare chest; it allowed him to get to his pistol on his hip easier. The effort wasn't necessary, as two of the nicely dressed law enforcers in the pay of the casino stepped up.

  With a lot of fuss from the drunk and some smooth action from the experienced officers, the man was soon removed from the area. The room's host came by with complimentary drinks, snacks, and another person—a woman, was quickly in the empty seat. The game continued.

  Leaving his chips sitting at the table, Keenan took a break and got up to walk around. He saw the man who had been angry and drunk, thanking the law officers and moving away with steady feet. So, it was an act, perhaps to time the reactions of the law. Was he one of the Transformed? Keenan needed to find his other two friends to see if they had observed any unusual action. Anything similar to what had just happened to him.

  Finding Thea playing at a curved table with five men who were watching her and not their cards or the dealer. She was a beautiful, deadly weapon in a female body. Before he reached her table, he saw a couple of casino law officials talking to a man. He was apologizing, and it looked like they were agreeing. When there was a problem with a customer, and it could be settled without an incident, so much the better.

  Making a mental note, he walked up to Thea and tapped her on the shoulder.

  "Hello beautiful, can I buy you a drink over at the bar?"

  "Good luck, stranger. The lady has ignored us all night." One of the men at the table spoke to his buddies, and the other guy nodded, reached over to nudge his friend.

  Thea turned at looked at Keenan with his open jacket and gave him a wink. "Maybe they didn't ask in the right manner." She held out her hand, and Keenan took it to help her from the high seat. Together and at the shock of the rest of the men at the table, they walked away to one of the bars. The men all had eyes on Thea's ass, as she used it to draw attention on purpose. Weapons were weapons.

  With her chips still at the seat, no one else would be allowed to take her chair. She would return later to continue the game. For now, she let Keenan lead her over to one of the bars that were set up to allow customers to find them. At the bar stools were the usual small machines so that customers could play games even here.

  After placing the order for their drinks, Keenan got right down to business. "Was a drunk removed from your table right now?"

  "Yeah, a real asshole."

  "Well, I think the fucking man was a plant from Transformed. They are checking on the response time of the casino enforcers." Their drinks arrived, and since all drinks were free, Keenan tipped the bartender, who was human and probably a local.

  Thea was looking around, and sure enough, she could see the man shaking hands with the guys in the suits that were not even wrinkled. "You're right. He has suddenly sobered up and made friends. Shit."

  "I wonder how many they have secretly inserted into the casino?" Keenan was looking around and couldn't see into the distance of this mammoth construction. It had started large to begin with, and it was meant to have additions added to the original building.

  The idea was that it would grow, as the need and the customers created the need for additional room. Now it was miles and miles in all directions. It had a whole planet that supported it, supplying workers, food, and drinks. It also supported the entire planet. The world of Expeca V was now rich from this one business that created many jobs. It also supported the schools and allowed those who wanted, that could retire in comfort.

  There were still farms with wealthy farmers who had the best equipment brought in from across the universe. Their produce went to markets or distilleries, or food plants. Half went back to the locals, and the other half was for the casino.

  With the profits pouring in from the casino, the planet was able to import manufactured items and luxury products. Living was good for the residents of this world, and it was very difficult for those who tried to move in or hoped just to come and live among the natives.

  There was a long list of individuals waiting to move to Expeca V, from retirees to casino workers. The list did not move fast, as the government intake system preferred a steady population. But it was easy to visit the planet if you had a few coin and wanted to gamble. The doors were opened wide for any client to the immense casino.

  So, to get a lot of the Transformed soldiers onto the planet to check out the enforcers of the casino was easy. All they needed was to declare that they wanted to spend some coin at the casino. The doors were opened wide.

  "Let's find Bruno and do some planning." Keenan pointed at the big floor of the nearby portion of what they could see, and Thea agreed. Bruno would be somewhere nearby, as they all came in the same entrance. The driver of their car did ask if any of them wanted to go on to other parts of the casino. They all declined and knew they could learn what they needed in one area.

  It took them about twenty minutes to finally locate Bruno at a table with dice. It was busy with a lot of people also standing close watching the action. Thea took advantage of her shape, and after slithering against a couple of agreeable males, she was soon able to get close to Bruno. She whispered in his ear, and he nodded, placing one more bet and stepping back to follow her.

  This time the three of them found a small table at a bar that served food as well as the many drinks. Sure enough, Bruno had a tale of a drunk that had to be removed from the table. But Bruno had kept an eye on the ruckus, and the man had not been taken to one of those mysterious back rooms that people talked about.

  Instead, it looked like the drunk had recovered suddenly and was seen apologizing to the security forces. "So, you guys saw the same reaction among drunkards and the law?

  "Yep." Keenan nodded.

  "How many?"

  Looking around at the happy crowd, Keenan shook his head. "I can't guess how many yet. But they are just checking things out right now. What we need to do is plan how we can stop this whole mess."

  "Maybe we should go back to the ship." Thea was frowning at a man who was trying to flirt with her. Actually, most of the men in the room were trying to get her attention
.

  The staff was just as helpful and polite as the three friends left the casino, as the people had been when they arrived. Of course, most of the words that were repeated over and over were to 'come back soon and 'be sure to tell your friends. They were given gifts that all had the name of EXPECA V CASINO written or engraved on them.

  Sitting once more in his favorite chair, feeling at home on the bridge of the Adamant, Keenan was drinking coffee from a cup with the name of the casino on one side. He was listening to Thea and Bruno arguing about bombing the casino or the satellite. This discussion had been going on for at least a couple of hours since they had returned, and he wasn't sure who was on which side.

  Poly came onto the bridge and announced over the noise of the voices that she had information for the Captain. "Captain, there has been a lot of signals coming from and to the satellite."

  Now Thea turned to her console and began to let her fingers fly over the illuminated buttons. Bruno also switched his seat to face forward and look at the signals on his dash.

  "None of this shit works. I see all kinds of communications going back and forth, but it is all in code. I can't read any of this stuff." Thea was frustrated.

  "I have already translated most of the transmissions." Poly put up some information on one of the permanent screens that were above the clear window of the bridge. Words began to flow, and everyone was reading.

  "Oh, oh. Baby is in trouble with grandma." Snickered Bruno. That is what was in the messages. The leader back at the headquarters was not happy with all the soldiers from different locations being transferred away from training and security. She was demanding to know what Nor was up to out in space.

  "I need to go to the fucking metal box," Keenan stated, and to his surprise, the other two heard his words. There was silence, and Poly bobbed over to tilt as if to get a better look at its Captain.

  "Are you feeling well, boss?" Bruno looked over.

  "Look, fucking Nor has a bunch of soldiers stuck over there, and he has to feed them, and if he doesn't work their asses out once in a while, they are going to get bored. But the soldiers don't matter. What the real problem is the guy at the top of the shit pile. What is that ancient saying, cut off the head of the snake?"

  "Archives say that particular comment comes from old Earth." Poly always seemed to have some words of the Universal Thread memories to add to any conversation.

  "So with many, many thousands of soldiers on that satellite, you think you can walk in, meet the leader and wipe him out? I think all that whiskey you drink has finally damaged some of your brain cells." Thea looked like she was really worried.

  Looking at his friends, he realized that they didn't know who he was, but that wasn't true. They knew him as a man, and that was what they had come to appreciate and to be friends with on this ship.

  What was he really, a rogue modifier or a man with friends? He sat there for a moment and looked at the three entities in this cabin and made up his mind. Because he knew that if it meant shifting into the beast to save even just one of these three, including Poly, he would do it in an instant. So, he was what he had been born, a rare Veldan warrior who had his family killed by an immoral male.

  So, it was time to go out and see what that satellite looked like inside.

  "You guys have my back on this ship. I will go alone, as one man is easy to hide among a lot of people. What we have to find is a way to get me on the next load of soldiers."

  "Poly, I need to know if the female Sub-leader left any clothes on our ship?"

  "Captain, I do not recommend your action. But the Sub-leader Sorchia Ment left a full uniform in the cleaning unit. It is now ready to be worn for her. She is now at the same location where we dropped her, and I can track her movements and see…."

  "Enough." Keenan sighed. Ever since he had instructed Poly to learn to speak better, she had now said too much, giving them more information than they asked. Poly just stopped talking, and it bobbed, a motion not necessary, but one it seemed to enjoy.

  "Poly, take that uniform and have the machines add to it so that it will fit my larger size. You have my measurements. Get it ready as fast as possible." He waved the small bot away, and as Poly left the bridge cabin, they could hear it speaking, talking about all the machines in the cleaning and production room.

  "You know you created a monster in that little robot, right boss?" Bruno shook his head. "What do you need me to do?"

  "I can't take my favorite pistol with me out where everyone can see it. Come up with some way to have it with me; but hide it from scans and eye-sight."

  "Hmm, quite a bit of a challenge." Bruno accepted the glare from Keenan. "Hey, don't worry. I got it."

  "And my job, boss?" His beautiful pilot sat in that co-pilot's chair with her dashboard glowing.

  "Get me an incoming shuttle full of Transformed soldiers so that I can sneak aboard."

  "Done and done." Thea was searching the deep dark.

  It only took them two days ship time to find and get close to another Transformed shuttle on its way to the particular satellite. They needed to find it far enough away so that the people on the satellite would not send help, but close enough that they were sure it was headed for that location.

  During that time, Keenan's team was busy with a uniform and a bomb, and other surprises he would take with him. All the items would be hidden or disguised so that the soldiers he would be walking among would not recognize what he carried aboard the satellite.

  For space being so ample and empty, it was busy and full of a lot of items like misplaced asteroids and their tails. Such asteroids or meteorites were easy for spaceships to avoid, even their long tails. But the debris of rocks and ice thrown off were often unseen and could create a hazard to travelers.

  "Okay, team. This is it. I need to get into my new uniform." Keenan was ready for the action that would get him onto a Transformed shuttle and to the satellite where Nor was holding court. "Go into stealth mode and approach the shuttle. It is all up to you guys."

  The idea was to throw some small rocks at the shuttle so that it had very minor damage. That way, it would not be noticed when the big Adamant latched onto it so that Keenan could transfer into the smaller vehicle.

  He assured his team that his job was easy and that it was all up to their skills.

  Bruno used some magnetic weapons on a low charge to move very small ice rocks into position.

  Keenan was in the airlock with the inner door closed and the outer open to airless space. He had on a breather and was wearing the uniform of a Sub-leader. He also had a couple of other items on him that would be interesting to see the reactions of the other soldiers to once he was inside.

  Chapter Twenty

  The Captain of the shuttle Base Line Twelve was holding a calm appearance as he saw his two officers fighting to hold the small ship together.

  They had taken great care to avoid the distant meteorites, but evidently, the small ice chunks were too small to be picked up by their radar and scans. They had been hit at least three times, and one had been tiny but pierced the outer skin letting air stream out until an automatic patch was in place.

  One bumped and knocked the airlock open on the outside, but in checking it, the soldiers got the door closed, the lock sealed, and air full. They went in and checked the system to make sure the outer door was safe. Everything was in top shape, so the Captain approved it and told the soldiers to close the inner door with the standard safe stamp.

  At last, the Captain checked with his people, ten regulars who served with him on the shuttle, that all systems were gone. It looked like they had made it through the debris field and were now back on a direct route to a particular location. The Captain had made this trip three times and made a profit each time. The Transformed people paid generously and in advance.

  There were rumors that the people at the head of the Transformed group were making offers of purchasing the shuttles for full-time use. The Captain and his crew owned this ship
and one more shuttle, and they had hopes of adding more to their small fleet. They would not be happy to sell their ships, but they would accept more coin in an offer to do more business with the Transformed. So, he would listen to the leader if the man made an offer.

  Basically, these ships or shuttles were just big open barrels with a small command cabin in the nose and a powerful engine along the bottom with the exhaust in the rear. The rest was just bare large rooms to be converted for use. Under the right conditions, the entire section could be one large storage area for something big to be shipped wherever the strong engines could take them.

  Right now, it was broken up into several levels and many rooms with bunks and workout areas along with two galleys. It was handling the movement of a couple of hundred Transformed troops in a reasonably comfortable situation.

  The Captain had picked up groups of soldiers from four different locations. At each place, the number varied in small groups. This had happened on each of his trips. He had to wonder why the strange mix-up of groups and their locations. How loyal could these soldiers be if they just got inducted and trained and didn't know each other or their leaders?

  But he did see that they took orders, moving fast at the words of any leader. Even on the ship for the tedious trip, locked together with not much to do, the leaders kept them under control, getting them to do exercises in turn and talking to them in groups about the greatness of a world run by the Transformed.

  One thing the Captain noticed, as he rode the ship with a full load, was that the leaders stayed away from each other. They did not gather for comparison or planning sessions. He had been a grunt in the Marines in the Organization of Worlds for one short stint.

  Officers always ate together and walked along in twos or threes, quietly talking as if there was some secret life to having those special marks on their uniforms. Among the soldiers of the Transformed, the officers hardly spoke and seemed to find other areas to stay or be with soldiers instead of officers. There seemed to be some strange competition in place that kept them apart.