Starblazer- Through the Black Gate

by Reiter

  “Let me assist you with your tent,” Dungias said softly. “The rest of you, please see to the mounts and the wagon.” The strange woman maintained a soft chuckle as she moved to the rear of her wagon.

  “Do you need a moment alone with me, Star Chaser?”

  Dungias sighed in relief as his eyes closed. He had felt the woman’s approach nearly half an hour earlier; for some reason she was familiar to him. This woman danced with the Stars, and quite possibly more deeply than he ever would. “Need is not the word,” he finally answered her. “But want fits perfectly.”

  “Putting your wants ahead of the needs of others?”

  “You need not test me, Mistress,” Dungias said as he lowered the tailgate. “If you cannot see my clarity, perhaps it is because I have devoted too much time and effort into the construction of my veil.”

  “Then perhaps you have only managed to veil the Traveler from himself,” she remarked.

  “I have managed so much more than that, Mistress.”

  “Indeed you have, Star Chaser,” she said softly as they pulled the frame for the tent off the wagon. Dungias did most of the lifting, but he was not going to deny the woman any assistance she saw fit to lend. “No, I need not test you. You are not without faults, like all the rest of us. Unlike so many, however, your Star Light has shone on those shortcomings, illuminating them to you. You see them, address them and now you try to contend with them. You have only failed in one regard. Now, let us see to my tent. I am going to need your help before I am to see anyone.”

  “As you need, Mistress,” Dungias replied, giving the woman a slight bow.

  “Good enough. I can at last do what I have been waiting in this dismal place to do.” S’Vrili decided to maintain the façade for at least a little longer. She had expected so many things out of meeting the one she had seen in her visions. While he was not what she had expected, she could not say she was disappointed. Following Renaldo’s advice, the changes to her body had been made and they had served her well. She saw no need to abandon those changes. “Yes, Star Chaser, I knew you were coming, but you are incredibly late.” She watched as Dungias put his hands to the apparatus; one he had never seen and had been so customized over time that it hardly resembled its original shape or form. His hands moved without error as he locked the frame together and checked the connections to verify their ability to conduct Energies. It would normally take anywhere from forty minutes to an hour for her to talk someone through the assembly, and the amount of time was simply another gauge she could set her vision to. As Dungias reached for the first support pole, she knew he would have the tent up in less than ten minutes, which was her normal time.

  “MajiK,” Dungias offered as an explanation, reaching for the second pole. The woman nodded for a moment and returned to her observations.

  “Hrmph. Be glad you arrived at all then!”

  Nulaki walked with Jocasta, wondering if she was going to keep her outrage to a verbal exchange. She was heavily armed and Nulaki had only played with a couple of the items the Chief Engineer had crafted for him. The Malgovi’s fabrications skills were without question. “Should I ask to go first?”

  “I think that would be prudent… and healthy,” Jocasta said, turning on her heel.

  “I’ll give you the real easy version. Look at Dugger.”

  Jocasta looked around Nulaki to put eyes on Ephaliun. He was still seated in the front of the wagon, holding on to the reins. He had not budged from the spot, and he had yet to acknowledge any of the crew; they had finally stopped trying to talk to him. “What the hell is wrong with him?”

  “He spent five minutes with that woman,” Nulaki said, “… telling him everything about himself; past, present and future. She told him about his family, the friends he had started to make aboard ship but fouled up, and then she told him about the death that awaits him if he doesn’t figure out a riddle she gave him on a scroll!

  “I’m sorry, did I forget to mention how she was waiting for us when we came from where Z had bought the supplies?”

  “Yeah, you kinda jumped over all of that,” Jocasta replied, looking at the woman assemble her tent with Dungias’ assistance.

  “All she said was that we needed her if we were ever going to achieve the point of light.”

  “Point of light???” Jocasta asked as her eyebrows lifted over her eyes. She put her eyes on the Black Scarab and noted the anxiety in his eyes.

  “Then she led us out of the city!” Nulaki exclaimed without raising his voice. “I’ve made some moves in my time, but never at a walking speed. We dodged so many patrols that I stopped counting after seven. When we got to the city gates, they were changing the guard. The standing Brick had to relieve himself and his replacement had overslept. She told me the ten-character override code and we just walked out!”

  “Easy, Nulaki,” Jocasta said, patting his shoulder. “You’re talking to a pirate, not some IA hard-ass with a ten-meter rod shoved up his three-meter wiz-way. Pirates are basically sailing gypsies… simply put, when the weird comes to pay a visit, you ready the Captain’s chambers for them and break out the best rum.”

  “Which means?”

  “Which means we make moves to get the hell out of here as soon as she’s done with us!” Jocasta replied. “But not one heartbeat before!”

  “I didn’t know you had such an appreciation for the metaphysical, Captain,” Nulaki shared.

  “Can’t say that I do,” Jocasta argued. “But I figure I’ve got enough enemies on the physical end of things. No need to go and start making waves elsewhere.”

  “Would you mind if I give you a hand?” Pristacia asked.

  “Please join us, Princess,” the woman said, handing the young woman one of the last three support poles. “He is nearly done here, but I am sure he will be able to begin your seduction instruction as he works.

  “Very wise of you to come forward on your own,” the woman added. “It gives you greater belief in yourself and that is a good strength to possess. It also gives us an opportunity to spend our time on other matters.” The woman turned and ambled over to her wagon. Dungias never stopped working, and Pristacia held out the next support pole, knowing Dungias would take it when he needed it.

  “Did she just read my mind?” she asked.

  “She is not a mentalist, Princess,” Dungias advised. “There is very little PsyoniK about her. She is gifted with the vision of the Stars, and she is here to give us a sample of that clarity.”

  “Why does that feel like not such a good thing?” Pristacia asked, looking at Dungias who looked up at her without changing his facial expression.

  “Simply put, you possess what is often referred to as female intuition!”

  “And not so simply?”

  “If the Stars know of a possible outcome of events and they send someone to us to tell us what they see, it is indicative of a Fate Junction; a place where treks intersect with circumstance and the simple chaos that is life. A number of decisions will be available to the traveler of the trek. The Stars fear that the wrong decisions might be made, unraveling what they see as possibly happening.”

  “That sounds really confusing,” Pristacia remarked.

  “Even more confusing if you are ignorant of the trek under your feet,” Dungias said, taking the next to last support pole. “You like to hide, Pristacia, thinking that the unseen and unheard are more safe; it is your way of avoiding the fate; one which many comely people who find themselves in positions of weakness eventually arrive at being. I believe the term is whore.” Pristacia frowned at Dungias’ frankness. “What you have yet to realize is that while you constantly leave the decisions of your life in the hands of others, you are taking all sorts of would-be lovers to your proverbial bed inviting them to do as they wish.”

  “So no matter which way I go I’m fucked?!” Pristacia barked.

  “To some extent, life takes us all to that bed,” Dungias answered. “The question is whether you are taken against your will and
outside your realm of control. Or do you not believe there is a difference between being raped and making love?”

  “Of course there’s a difference!”

  “Then why are you so pressed to turn yourself into a victim?” Dungias asked as he pulled on a rope and raised the small tent. “… instead of becoming the best lover you know how to be?!” Tears welled up in Pristacia’s eyes and she quickly wiped them away as she started to get mad at herself for even beginning to cry. “Which is not to say that the best lovers are not raped. Bear in mind that they had to be raped. As you are now, you are practically demanding to be taken!

  “And do not deny your tears, Princess. Embrace them, understand them, and eventually wield them. Make it so that when you cry it is either your choice, or a matter that overwhelms you.”

  “You know something, Z, you make the impossible sound easy.”

  “Then I would ask that you revisit what you think is impossible. By your own admission, you just said: ‘help me to see things the way you see, Z’. That I can and will do. I will make it so that you will rule over your lovers… and some you will not even have to take to bed. But there is one condition.”

  “What’s the condition?”

  “Recognize that only you can see your life the way it needs to be seen,” Dungias said, clapping the sand away from his hands. “So you will take my lessons, for what they are, and improve them by making them your own!”

  “You’ve got yourself a deal!”

  “And you have yourself a teacher,” Dungias said, allowing a slight smile. He could feel the old woman slip around the other side of the tent and enter inside. She had already requested his assistance, and he presumed whatever she needed of him would be done in the privacy of the tent. “Now, if you would be so kind as to go and gather the rest and line everyone up in the shade.”

  “Yes, Teacher,” Pristacia said with a beaming smile. She turned and ran toward the ground-car, and Dungias allowed the smile to fall away from his face.

  “Things are getting quite interesting,” S’Vrili thought. “… mostly because of this one I have been drawn into viewing. He is different, there is no argument of that fact, but he is most protective. Not that he betrays what he is protecting with his eyes, I can tell his senses hardly move from the one he calls Captain. Can it be that he is only the forerunner, the herald of things to come?” S’Vrili allowed her senses to sweep over both Nulaki and Jocasta. “The thief fears me, for there is little he can swindle that I will not see, and he knows this. But the woman… she respects what I represent… but there is no fear in her… not for me, at any rate. The fear she possesses is of… herself! Oh yes, the Stars have indeed delivered me,” S’Vrili thought as she prepared her voice to sound scratchy. “They have sent me to these two to play a pivotal role, and I cannot fail them. I will not!

  “As soon as you can, Star Chaser,” the woman called to him from inside the tent. “We have ample time, but neither of us is the sort to waste a plentiful resource.”

  ** b *** t *** o *** r **

  “I do not know what to say,” Casdan cried as he shook Danavyn’s hand. “What you have done for me… there are no words! And to have my position reversed so quickly. I am speechless!”

  “Hardly,” Danavyn thought as he smiled. “If only you were!

  “Well, I am a citizen of the Middle Rim, but my heart belongs to the Empire,” Danavyn claimed. “It was my pleasure to be of assistance to our newly reinstated Imperial Minister of Affairs. I tell you now to call upon me when there is need.”

  “There is always need, Mr. Veil,” Casdan quickly returned. “And I think I know of a way I can begin to repay my massive debt to you. The upcoming summit will require a Master of Ceremonies. As you know, my office will be deciding just who that will be. If I were you, I would summon my tailors to begin them upon composing suitable attire.”

  “Count Quazeki!” Danavyn gasped before bowing. “Now I cannot find the words myself at this moment. But your transport is ready to take you home. Know that I will have my office contact yours in the very near future for the details of this incredible honor!”

  “Fare thee well, Mr. Veil.”

  “And you, my Minister.”

  Casdan Quazeki turned to board the transport and his throat grew tight. Already he could see one of the Imperial Elite aboard, waiting for him. He looked back at Danavyn, smiled, and waved. The rest of the walk on to the transport was short and the spacecraft was airborne not long after the side door closed.

  The Count looked into the eyes of Nyrvann who was already shaking his head in disgust. “I cannot say why I am viewed as lying,” Casdan spoke with a very shaky voice. “… but did you find anything out of sort with Mr. Veil?”

  “That man has more guards than I care to count,” Nyrvann returned. “We could read absolutely nothing from him. But you performed your duties without error, and per the directives of Princess Maradothia, you are to be returned to your station at once. Welcome aboard, good Count.”

  “That’s an Imperial transport,” Thanneus noted as he joined his employer on the roof. “You work fast!”

  “I doubt he truly ever lost his position,” Danavyn shared. “Instead… I do believe the Princess was fishing.”

  “Smart girl.”

  “Indeed,” Danavyn quickly agreed. “How fortunate for us that she is soon to return to her studies in the Prism Baronies. I am sure she will leave agents in her stead to keep a watchful eye over my movements. That will make things slightly more difficult, for the immediate future at any rate.”

  “Casi Reddur,” Thanneus said, sounding as though he was giving Danavyn a secret code.

  “Am I supposed to know that name?”

  “No, but I get the feeling that is about to change,” Thanneus claimed. “That is the name that just recently poured through the IA Security Grid in a search for all records pertaining to that name… fifteen minutes after the same type of request hit its counterpart in the Empire. Simply put, the Empire and the IA are searching for information on the same name. A trusted Jockey just sent me the copies of the info requests along with some chatter she picked up on Imperial channels. Counselor Sylgarr himself registered at Portcullis shortly before he was verified at arriving in Oasis City on the planet Gulmurr.”

  “Portcullis?” Danavyn repeated, considering what he had been told. “Gulmurr? An Imperial Counselor is visiting the Gulmar System?!”

  “You could say that,” Thanneus remarked. “There was, however, no coordinating ship registry, just the notation of his entourage.”

  “Which means he did not arrive by way of a ship,” Danavyn quickly deduced. “This Jockey. How reliable–”

  “She’s my cousin,” Thanneus advised. “And she’s the reason how I knew where to find you the day we met!” Danavyn grinned, recollecting the events of that meeting.

  “Yes, I do recall you mentioning her before. It has been some time since we have heard from her.”

  “Not really,” Thanneus advised. “She’s also the reason why we could walk out of the Imperial Palace without being seen.”

  “Whatever you are paying her, double it, and bill it to me.” A loud beeping noise came from Thanneus’ brace-com. He lifted it to look at it and he smiled.

  “We’ve got some purloined footage,” Thanneus reported, hitting the buttons to link the footage to his boss’ network. Blinking only once, Danavyn Veil focused on what was sent to the display in his contact lenses.

  “A shame she is masked… and that the playback is so brief!” he added as he blinked. “Your cousin must not be in or near Gulmar.”

  “That would explain the lack of information,” Thanneus said. “Imperials must also be locking down the entire grid in the Gulmar System.”

  “Heavy-handed, as always. I keep forgetting the hold the Empire has in a system in the thick of the Middle Rim,” Danavyn said as he began to ponder. “More evidence that the momentum of timing is still on my side. Hmmm, a woman. How very odd!

 
“Excuse me, Thanneus,” Danavyn added as he started back inside his penthouse estate. “I have to make a communications link as soon as possible.”

  “Rushing to the aid of the Empire, sir?”

  “At this time, I can allow Casdan to further that cause,” the man said, dismissing the notion. “No, I need to initiate the conversation, the perspective… the sentiment whereby eventually, the Imperial presence in the Gulmar System will no longer be welcome.” Danavyn turned and walked more quickly into his abode, mentally summoning his office to prepare for the long-range communication.

  “Keep a wary eye on your brace-com,” Danavyn directed. “I want to know all you can find on this Casi Reddur. Yes, a most interesting name. And from what we have seen… a very interesting woman!”

  Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

  Harriet Tubman

  (Rims Time: XII-4201.23)

  “Can anyone else think of something spookier than Z in the tent with that woman?” Olkin asked and everyone laughed, including Jocasta, who turned to give her Cupid a giggling glare. “I know I can’t!”

  “Well, it’s thought, Cupid,” Silnee returned. “Everybody knows you’re not here for that sort of muscle-work.” Hands lifted up over mouths as Silnee quickly moved to put Mel between herself and Olkin.

  “Good ones, both of you,” Jocasta said as she put her eyes back on the tent. She shook her head, failing to find something in her mind that would qualify as ‘spookier’.

  “At the risk of throwing cold water on your mirth, you should realize how powerful you are.” Everyone turned to see Adleon sitting up with his hand still on the chest bandaging.

  “Looks like our Gallant’s feeling a lot better,” Jocasta smiled. “Got the color back to your skin and everything.” Her smile became gape-mouthed awe as Adleon removed his bandage. His chest appeared slightly bruised, but there was no sign of any tearing. “Much better,” she muttered.