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Chapter 4: Planet Yo

The Togar Commander sat across me on our big table in our Den. He looked clean and his singed fur was gone, replaced by patches of almost white fur. Cateria looked at a PDD in clipboard mode and said. "Our feline guest has been treated and is as healthy as I can make him. I fixed his burns and treated him for a nasty worm infestation of his stomach and intestines. I guess to much raw meat from an unclean source. He had nothing in terms of bugs or spy ware, neither biological, psionic or technological." She tapped the PDD with a resolute move and said to the Togar commander directly. "You need to have a blood panel done when you get home, I think you might have a higher than normal Cholesterol level, but I am not sure about Togar Physiology to know for certain."

He looked smaller now, sitting down and across the massive table; he blinked by closing his black lined eyelids and I assume that was how acknowledged something. He kept looking around at all our treasure Sobody, Mr. Warner and my crew had piled up and the colorful decoration with bits and pieces from perhaps every corner of the course he also noticed Hans and TheOther flanking him.

Cateria moved her head leaned closer to me and whispered in Seenian. "He is also under a lot of stress and while we don't have much Data on Medical Central on Togar Psych conditions, I think he is close to a nervous breakdown."

The Togar Commander wrought his hands nervously and then said. "You have an amazing ship and a truly formidable crew."

"Yes Commander, I think I do. I gave you my word and you are not a prisoner. I will take you and your crew to Kaliment, but I don't have the resources to deal with a potential Togar riot so I think they are better off sleeping."

"I understand Captain Black Velvet. The ship must always come first. It makes no difference if I arrive at Kaliment, but I thank you for my crew."

"Tell me Commander, this is an unusual move calling us for help, could you not have waited for Togar aid. You had a big fleet just a few light years away. There isn't perhaps someone important in your crew that needed saving?"

"Yes your conclusions are quite correct Captain, normally we were just an Attack Cruiser with no concerns about our own safety, but both of my children, my son and my daughter are among the crew.

As a Togar am proud they have chosen to become space warriors and follow my lead. As a Commander I was worried to have my own off spring among my crew and as a father I broke any tradition and lost my honor, forfeit my life to save their lives."

"Alright Commander let us believe that for the moment and pretend I buy your story, and tell me what do you know about Brahma Port and why the Togar and the Dai think it is so important. I have other things to do than to sit here and talk to a human trading, man eating Togar commander." When I saw him; and I had to admit he was a magnificent looking member of his kind; I saw the ship full of stacked human body parts and whimpering slaves and wondered just how many humans had to witness other humans being butchered and eaten, knowing they were next. I wondered how many times he had sunk his formidable teeth into a human thigh or laughed as they tortured a human. Ever since we had found that ship of horrors, I had collected other reports of GalNet and knew they loved to play with their victims before they did the actual kill. I also remembered the Slave pens of Alvor's Cove and knew Togar Buyer picked human slaves like groceries for their meat pots.

"Captain Velvet, I am guilty of being Togar, I have been demoted from Section Commander to command a simple Cruiser because I am male and dared to question the queen and I have been guilty of thinking too much. I am thankful for what you did and I know I have no honor left but I won't sell you the last shards of whatever dignity I have left."

I said, while getting up, "I tried to be civil. You haven't told me what I wanted to know..."

Cateria still standing close said. "Maybe we should simply drag him over glowing steel rakes and then have TheOther beat a confession out of him before we do a Brain dump and just to make sure he knows you hate Togar we then have him skinned alive."

I snapped at her. "Have you seen…", but I stopped myself in mid sentence. She was right and truth to be told I didn't want anyone to judge Neo Vikings on the actions of my father or the things we did during the Pirate years. The Y'All did much worse things and on an entire different scale than the Togar and I never blamed TheOther because I was not alive when they had invaded. I didn't trust that Togar Commander but I was not even giving him a chance.

I had come to find an excuse to torture and mind dump him just as Cateria said. I wanted to kill him best with my own hands and that was a dangerous slippery road my own emotions were leading me.

I still hated unfair situations and he certainly was in an unfair situation right now. He was a big cat and a strong individual, yet cared more for his crew and his offspring than a Togar supposed to do He had lost his ship and was on his way to be prosecuted and executed by his own kind for accepting help.

I gave Cateria a long look, our CMO was not afraid to speak her mind and for that she rose quite a few notches in my personal oppinion about her. After all I had treated her quite similar when I encountered her the first time. I gave her a thankful nod and then said. "Thank you for reminding me, who I am, who we are."

The Seenian woman who had become my CMO had also disguised herself in civilian clothing and what she thought a Pirate would look like. Her always stern and cold face did no chance expression but her voice lost the usual edge. "You're welcome Captain..”

I returned my attention to the Togar. "Maybe we need to start over and before I ask you what I want to know, I would like to know what I can do for you. Maybe you can remain aboard and not leave on Kaliment. We will be on Sin 4 later on and maybe you can find a new live and a new career away from the Togar Empire."

He looked down on his big paws and they were shaking, so I got up walked around the table and took a seat next to him and without really thinking and following an impulse I put my hand on his arm. "Commander Roghor, some humans drink a hot cup of tea to calm their nerves, others like a shot of alcohol. I personally prefer coffee and a cigarette. Is there anything you Togar consume while collecting thoughts? I doubt one of my human crew-members will volunteer so you can have a snack but is there anything else?"

He made a deep rasping sound that appeared to be the Togar equivalent of a sigh and he said looking at me and again I was taken aback by the intelligence and the humanity in those yellow non human eyes. "We don't just eat humans, and most male Togar don't ever have the chance to even try. There are 600 Billion Togar and I doubt there are more than 5000 to 6000 humans reaching our markets during a standard year." He spread his fur covered arms and. "I am not defending our ways, I just wanted to illustrate how rare and how expensive human flesh on Togr markets is. Since it is so rare, it is reserved for the very rich and very important females."

I actually believed him. "So what is it you want?"

He returned to stare art his paw like hands. "I don't know Pirate. When my ship was about to explode it seemed to be a good idea to ask and accept help. Now I am not sure if I doomed my son to live with his father's shame."

"How about your daughter?"

"She is female; her father's deeds mean nothing in our society."

"So if it isn't humans what do you eat?"

"We eat any kind of meat and we usually drink only water. Alcohol is dangerous to us; even a little makes us very drunk." He added .”We Togar don't share much of our culture with others and what others know about is only a shadow of the truth. There is a human, his name is Alex Enroe and he managed to become friends with the queen herself. He sells us bacon and pork meat, but he is from the Union and not Free Space.”

Cateria said. "I check the galley and see what we got in terms of bacon."

The Commander rattled his Togar sigh again. "You are an enigma, Captain Velvet, you hide your face behind a mask and even we Togar have heard rumors of you. Your ship is an old Karthanian, yet it sports the finest Nul weapons and genuine Union Isah Pods, your crew includes a Y'All. They say you are a ruthless pirate and we did see you raid and destroy another known pirate vessel, yet your Crew acts like professionals not like the throat cutting dreg usually to be found on pirate ships.”

I shrugged. "We all have our own styles I guess. I prefer professionals running my ship over the dreg kind you mentioned."

He returned to answer my original question saying. "Maybe I can make my way into the Union region somehow. There is a rumor Alex Enroe helps Togar."

"I think it is more than a rumor."

Suddenly changing the subject he said. "The reason why our Queen protects the Bennetts and the Dai want control over the system is the Backdoor."

"The back door?"

He blinked his eyes again by squezzing them. "There is a stable worm hole that leads deep into Union Space and is used by the Bennetts to smuggle Union Mil Tech, Slaves and other prohibited Tech out, and drugs and other illegal things in. The old Bennett owns an ancient alien device that controls that worm hole."

I could not contain myself, cursed and said. "So any fleet built up at the border won't do any good. How big is that worm hole?"

He made a wide gesture and said. "Big enough for the largest Dai Mother, and perhaps even for that tremendous Demon ship the Union has."

"Do you know where it terminates?"

"I never went through and its existence is supposed to be a tight guarded secret, I don't know why the Dai committed so many ships but it would not surprise me if that Wormhole is the reason."

"And now the Dai fight the Togar over it?"

"No the Dai retreated, but then it is said that the Dai leader united 5000 clans and what we have seen there was only part of his entire force. The Queen is certain that the Dai will return and we are to hunt any Dai around the Shattered System. We are also to find the White Fur Demon. The Queen herself has decreed that we search any pirate ships, slave traders and slave markets for a White furred Togar Female. She is to be destroyed on sight."

"Why?"

"I am a male that means we don't get to know the reasons for any orders."

His triangular nose started twitching quite violently and his tongue became visible as it licked his chaps.

Cateria had returned with a big plate full of crisp bacon strips and placed it before the Togar. "The Galley didn't know what kind of bacon you prefer so they gave you a sample of all the kinds we had."

He really tried to be dignified and polite restraining himself but his nose and tongue had a mind of their own and I said to him. "Go right ahead Commander, I leave you to it and I will have some suitable quarters arranged. Under guard and confined of course until we reach Kaliment." "Thank you."

I got up and he put the first piece of bacon in his mouth and his non-human beast like face clearly showed bliss as he chewed. "This is the real treasure of your ship!"

At the door I said to Cateria. "Blindfold him or something and find him a room that has no Union Tech and a sturdy door that can be locked"

She nodded. "I talk to Mr. Warner; he is always full of ideas."

-""-

The star system we were approaching was only nine light years from where we destroyed the Swift Profit and where Narth was certain Curtis went.

I had us drop out of Quasi just a light hour outside the system and turned to Sobody. "Do you know anything about this System? According to Union Catalogs it has only a number and was of course never surveyed as it is in Free Space."

Sobody rubbed his bald head that no longer sported the ugly fake scar and said. "I wish I could tell you more but we Golden are not explorers as you Terrans, what we know is from others telling us, it does not appear I ever heard anyone trading out of this System. I wish I could access Golden Archives."

Elfi said. "I think you could access them. We left a GalNet terminal in your Bazaar and we are not that far away, maybe one of those mirror faces can assist you."

He smacked his head. "Of course, we are Union now I forgot we have access to the most marvelous invention of the Union." He rushed over to her as she made the connection and he said. "Those Golden Faces are a formidable race and I tell you all about them at some other time. Now get me that bumbling Chamberlain."

Shea smiled at the scene and then looked over her scanner results and said. "It's a binary star system, with an old red star and a younger GIII type. There are two Rock Core planets, one Jovian and a few moons and planetoids. The second rock core planet appears to be a Type 3 E Garden world."

"Energies?"

She shook her head. "Nothing with Karthanian Sensors, do you want me to light up our real ones?"

"No not yet, I was told the Kermac don't have the same quality sensors we do, but they can detect Union Sensors used."

Keep your eyes open and glued to our instruments. Shaka get us to that 3E world. I have a feeling that is where he went."

Sobody turned. "Sorry Captain there isn't much in our Archives either, it is marked as uninhabited and we have no other information."

"No worries, we just have to do it the old fashioned way. We will be here a few days anyway until the Shadowrunner can catch up with us.

As we closed on the second planet, Shea said. There are 49 artificial satellites in orbit around that world. Metal and very weak energy readings. Looks like nuclear decay batteries."

"Shaka get us closer so Shea can take a better look, SHIP sound battle stations."

Shea was glued to her scanners and then she said. "48 of these Satellites are Space mirrors, meant to collect sunlight and heat to make that freeze looker planet more livable, but none of the mirrors reflect anything and appear to have only minimal power sources. The material scans and the design point to Tech Level 3." She paused. "One of the satellites appears to be some sort of command center. Materials and Energy source match the mirrors, and it too has all appearance of Tech Level 3 but just from looking at it."

"You do not sound very convinced." I said looking at the now enhanced images of large square constructs with thousands of hexagonal patterned plates. According to the data displayed each of those square things measured 2000 square meters, but where only a few meters thick with a parabolic shaped construct on the underside, aiming at the planet below.

She said. "That command structure looks like a giant cannon of sorts. It is over 3000 meters long and it is aimed more or less at the Union Core region. I can't deduct what it is supposed to be."

I smiled. "It's alien and maybe we can find out what it is."

Narth said. "I detected Swift's mind for a moment. He is down on that planet, and he is afraid, but now he slipped past my range again. "He sounded apologetic as he added. "It is still quite a distance."

"Any other life or thoughts?"

He concentrated for a few moments and then said. "I am not certain. I had the impression of some very faint, very distant thoughts. Like a murmur without real substance or meaning."

"Shaka put us in a geostationary orbit roughly over the spot where Narth felt Swift's mind and Shea light up our science and life sensors. They don't have trans light emissions right?"

"No, Life science sensors have a very limited range."

Har-Hi said. "You know all this pirate business should be my favorite mission, but I must admit this is why I really wanted to be a Union Officer. Exploring a new star system, finding something unusual and unexpected." He pointed his gloved finger at me. "Please don't ever tell that to my father or any other Dai for that matter."

I laughed. "If you don't tell any Nilfeheim Viking that I dressed up like a Pirate Chick."

He grinned. "It's a deal, Captain."

Krabbel said. "Please let me be part of an away mission this time. I know there won't be many chances for me to pretend to be a Pirate as there aren't any Archas outside the Union."

"We are here to catch Curtis Swift, and as soon as the Shadowrunner met with us we head back to Brahma. Fining that Back Door is more important than anything else."

Har-Hi agreed. "Angry Dai Clans out for revenge deep in Union Space and them having an escape route would be very bad indeed."

I got up, and put my hand on Krabbel's hairy back. "But we did stumble upon a mystery and you are on the next Away mission. I never planned to keep you on the sidelines. We're Pirates and who says there aren't any other Spider like beings out there?"

Meanwhile Har-Hi had increased the magnification of our main viewer and gestured to the floating mirrors. "Looks like they are crusted over with dust or something and that is why they don't work."

Shea also looked at it and said. "For structures like this to attract that much dust in deep space means they must be very old. How are we going to do this Captain?"

"We stay in Orbit, await the Shadowrunner. Krabbel will lead a team over to that main structure and check it out. He will put the team together and I will go down there with a team of my own and take Swift back alive or make sure he's dead and in that case he may stay."

Krabbel got all excited and chirped. "Mission lead, I am going to be Mission lead. Can I get Shea and Lorenz and I…"

"Krabbel!"

"Oh and I need a Robot or two and…"

"KRABBEL!" Yes Captain?"

"Take a deep breath and calm down. Go plan your mission just as we did on the Devi during training, request the personnel you think you need and the request the hardware and Har-Hi will check it and okay it. You are in charge and you can request whatever and whomever you want and then you have to do with what you actually get."

He actually snapped in attention. "Yes Captain."

"Krabbel relax you will do fine and don't snap in attention on the bridge." "I know Captain but that's how I tried to calm down. Part of me wants to explode with pride to get a real mission and part of me is terribly afraid and I wish I hadn't asked."

"We are on real missions more or less since Quagmire and you did fine in the diciest situations. The only difference is you are a Lieutenant now and not a Midshipman."

"I know and I know I can do it. I am a Union Officer." He said with a resolute voice and then he said more quietly. "But you have been in charge and told us what to do. You always know what to do, no matter what."

"I am not taking this away from you. I want you to take your team over there and find out what these things are and come back. I trust you with Shea and anyone else you request."

"Thank you."

Har-Hi also reinforced Krabbel with a collegial pad on the torso. "Go get your lists; we are in a bit of a hurry!"

To me he said. "Who goes down with you?"

"I stay if you object of course."

"It's against regulations, it's against common sense to let the Captain leave the ship all the time, but it is how we do things on the Tigershark. So who goes?"

"You and TheOther and squad marines and we drop in so they don't see us coming."

"Weren't you terrified of those?"

"I am but they were right to teach them, Orbital drops are useful."

Narth said. "I qualified for Orbital assault."

I smiled at him. "You are taking a nap and then pick us up or join us if we can't find the bugger on our own."

Har-Hi perfectly happy now as I could tell because he could go along asked. "Who has the Conn?"

I said." Since we are kicking regulations in the wind, SHIP how about it, want to try command for a chance?"

SHIP didn't respond right away as she usually did, then she said. "Yes Captain."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No Captain but your suggestion and consideration caused a Neuro Pathway over stack reaction in my main processing neuronics."

"And that means you are damaged somehow and we need to get Shea to take a look?"

Shea said. "No Captain, SHIP just basically invented a new way to express pride and I never seen such a Loyalty Logarithm, in AI terms she really loves you."

"I knew that long before that, she's my SHIP after all."

"--”

Krabbel, Shea, Hans, Mao, two of the Science staff of Shea's department and two all marines; all equipped with the brand new Atlas Type Quasimodos had left the Tigershark via Airlock membrane moments ago.

Hans looked just bigger in his suit but Krabbel truly looked like an alien monster from another galaxy in his version of the Suit. He set a line of way points to the dark alien construct floating in a stable and distant geostationary orbit around the whitish brown planet below and engaged the auto pilot.

These Suits were way more than a space suit; fully functional minis space ships, capable of Trans light jumps. Heavily armed, well protected and shielded. There was not much that could hurt a Union Soldier in one of these.

Krabbel had forgotten his fears and doubts. He was not only a Union Fleet Academy graduate and received the finest training. He was part of the Olafson Gang.

They all decided to visit the canon or gun like construct first, before they checked out one of the mirrors. Shea right next to him used her scanners of course and was speaking with one of the scientists over the general channel. "It might just be an ancient telescope and not a weapon at all. The metallurgy scan is a bit unusual but nothing unexpected."

Another male voice came back. "I don't think the metal composition is all that strange and the Yttrium spikes we are seeing come from laser cathodes or LEDs attached to the metal."

They kept on chattering as they approached the thing it was getting bigger and now visible by the naked eye. It was 3000 meters long and had a cylindrical gun barrel like pipe that was encased by a round metal lattice cage. To one end it appeared open like a muzzle and at the other end was a somewhat cubical construct with round tanks and extensions attached to it.

One of the Marines said. "I wonder where it is pointing at."

Ships voice bugged in, "One Second Corporal Basing, I was listening in and by projecting a trajectory line through the objects center, correlating its position I can answer that question. It is pointing almost exactly at the Terran Sol System."

Krabbel said. "I don't like anything artificial weapon canon looking pointing at Union Stars."

Mao butted in. "Could be a coincident, especially since SHIP use the words 'almost exactly'. Hey what kind of AI are you anyway. Narth and Shea can do a better computronic impression than that."

"Today I am not just the Ships AI I am a Bridge Watch Officer and if I may say so the very first Union Ship Computronic in this role, besides even less capable Computronics than me can use human expressions with ease. When I said almost exact, I meant within an error margin of point four percent. At a distance of 9,233 Light Years an acceptable margin"

Krabbel acknowledged and reached the cubical aft section ahead of the others. Everything was encrusted by a thick layer of dust. Shea said. "The thing has enough mass gravitation to attract micro debris." She wiped a wide swath of with her glove hand and placed the material so gathered in plastic bag, while she was busy doing so. Mao stared at the meter wide swath of cleared metal and said. "Shea keep wiping, upwards."

She had stowed away the sample bag and paid more attention. She had uncovered a red and white paint and now Krabbel and the others started wiping the dust of while Mao was at a distance and looked at the strange red white and black symbol. It is some sort of alien glyph."

Shea gave herself and then compensated with her thrusters to stop next to Mao and look at the symbol. "SHIP cross-reference visuals with GalNet and identify. I think we will find a match in Terran pre astro history files."

"Confirmed, the symbol corresponds with the national symbol of a pre astro Earth Nation called Germany…"

Hans became pale underneath his helmet and said even before SHIP. "It is called Swastika." Mao said. "This can't be from Pre Astro Earth, it's a coincidence besides it is rather pretty, what does it supposed to mean?"

Hans whispered. "Great Evil!"



I was not under any fear intensifying drugs or beams and yet my heart missed a few beats as I pushed myself of and through the force field membrane. I was in a state of the art suit and this time it had been checked by me and double checked by Circuit. I knew what to do and had a clear goal. In my short career I had already spend more time in space suits than most Fleet officers did in a life time and yet I had this totally unfounded fear of space, almost like a forgotten memory of an ambush on me while I was sleeping and in space. What utter nonsense my own mind conjured up trying to explain this ridiculous phobia of mine to myself. I shook my head and took a sip of cold water from sip supplier and said. "Alright guys, lets drop in on Mr. Swift and be back for dinner." I checked my own scanner and the weak energy signature consistent with a survival suit and the neuro electric pulse activity of a human heart and nervous system was clearly shown.

The suit was pretty much doing everything for me. Orbital drops were a technique Terrans had perfected since the ascent and their expertise translated into Union tactics and today everything was refined and safe. The Suit created a force field shaped like a an arrow tip penetrating the atmosphere at high speed but with a low profile shape, the Field could extend to nearly a kilometer in the upper atmosphere layers and the computronic controlled how many air molecules to let through and how many to deflect and create updraft, but that was for Orbital Infantry Noobs on their first jump. Marines dropped with the field shaped like a lens as fast and frictionless as possible with as little signature as possible.

Well technically this was only my second jump as I never reached the ground during my last attempt and I was of course not a marine, Now that I could see a ground and up and down had meaning all fear was gone and the old Eric surfaced, wild, reckless and enjoying the ride. I called myself a fool for having kept my eyes close the entire time during my first jump.

At 20,000 meters my optics gave me a clear view of every surface detail. There were only exposed rocks, ice and snow and there at the bottom of a steep mountain was the escape capsule. It was clearly damaged and a human figure was leaning against it, wearing a simple space suit.

The man was alive but didn't move as we dropped all around him.

I could see his face behind the face plate, it wasn't Swift.

At first I cursed thinking the pirate had eluded us somehow and this was only a crew member of the Swift Profit, then I noticed the tracks in the snow and the fact that the escape module had two seats.

Har-Hi knelt next to the man and said. "Someone took his energy packs; the energy reading comes from a PDD."

"Is he still alive?"

"Yes, he just fell asleep, lack of oxygen I guess."

"What a fool." I opened my own helmet. "The atmosphere is wonderful fresh and perfectly breathable."

Har Hi cracked open the man's helmet. "I don't think they had any way of testing the atmosphere. Neither that escape pod nor his suit has any sort of sensors."

The man stirred, he looked human and had distinctive features identifying his origin. Then he blinked and opened his eyes. He looked old or maybe was just sick or weak but he stretched out his hand towards me and smiled. "Take me home Angel, I am ready,"

"Who are you calling angel? I want to know where Swift is."

He regained more of his senses and frowned. "For a moment I thought this gorgeous blonde was an Angel. Now I see she's a Union Soldier." He shivered. "That bastard took my Energy packs and left me here. I have no idea where he is but he must still be here on this frozen Popsicle planet."

As expected one of the Marines was Fectiv and I said. "Lieutenant, have him send to the Tigershark, and stick him into Stasis."

"Aye Captain."

I now paid attention to the Tracks and Har-Hi said. "Are you not cold, with your face exposed like that, not even wearing your usual mask?"

While I followed the tracks I said. "It's a bit fresh but I love it."

I had taken the whole mission too lightly, felt save and invincible in my Battle Suit, with Har-Hi, TheOther and Marines with me. I longed for cold fresh air and this is why I opened my helmet, this was the most foolish thing. I had still time to curse my own arrogance as all hell broke loose.

