Eric Olafson, Captain Black Velvet 30

Chapter 30

We had traveled a good hour on that train. The local transport thing stopped frequently and the train cars emptied a few beings at the time.

How the Kartanian knew where we were was a mystery to me, perhaps he had counted the stops or had some other indicator. He said, “We better get up, the next stop is ours.”

We resurfaced a few minutes later.

It was what the Karthanian called the Pulse district, a workers amusement section of the city. Jutika told us that this was for Ithe, and Drak would hardly ever find their way into this section of town. There was heavy police presence at every corner.

Our plan was to go to a local bar at an address Cherubim had transmitted. There we would be contacted by someone who in turn would guide us to the actual NAVINT intelligence contact. Of course I had not told Ninety or the others of that part. I could not trust our allies that much and expose an NAVINT agent. Whoever it was might even continue to be an intelligence contact if Itheamh changed governments.

Officially I wanted to do some general intelligence and check out the space port. At least that part was true as it was an integral part of my plan.

Ninety had come along to secretly meet with an underground cell. He said to me as we stood at the top of the escalator stairs. “Well this is the Pulse district. Seven blocks from here begins the space port district and there you find the offices of several Union based shipping companies.”

They turned to go back down as their destination was in another part of town and he said. “I know you are very formidable and capable individuals, but the central city Drak are elite and very brutal in their methods, so be careful.”

I said to them. “You be careful too. You do know how to activate the implant if you run into trouble right?”

They nodded and moments later Har-Hi and I were alone standing next to a concrete city center park with statues of previous magistrates and Drak heroes immortalized in bombastic status made of even more concrete.

Har-Hi looked up at one particular big statue and said. “They sure like concrete around here. They use it everywhere.”

I also looked up and said. “I guess it is a cheap building material. Don’t tell that to Jutika but I personally find the Ithe look quite comical, and to see them blown up to such size in something that is supposed to be a heroic pose makes them even funnier looking.”

A steely voice accompanied by the clicking heels of boots interrupted us and said. “Magnificent is he not, Magistrate Rotraga?”

I turned and two Drak officers in dark grey coats walked up to us.

For the duration of maybe a heartbeat or two I forgot how to articulate and steer the stilt eyes of my mask, but then I managed to activate the correct logarithm with a blink of my real eyes. To a human mind it was very confusing to have two independent moveable eyes that sat at the same spot where a human had ears, so we decided during our mask making session with Shea and Cateria to make the stalk eyes mock eyes only and have our real eyes behind a patch of one way transparent bio-skin. The stalk eyes moved more or less on a random move program until we needed to interact with other Ithe and we switched the eyes to interaction mode. This was the best Shea and SHIP could come up with in such a short notice and it was as convincing and awesome as everything they made, but we had to switch manually between programs.

I answered. “Oh yes, this magistrate was always my favorite hero too, especially how he holds that saber.”

One of the officers came closer. “Is there something wrong with your eyes, Ithe cretin?”

The other said. “You both are very tall; you are not trying to sneak into the inner district posing as Drak, right?”

Har-Hi said. “Of course not, Officer.”

The one talking to me said. “What do you think was Rotraga’s greatest achievement?”

I asked. “Can two citizens not take an evening stroll and admire the statues of our heroes without being questioned about the deeds of Magistrate Rotraga who was among the greatest. He made sure there is law and order and we workers have work.”

The officer who had talked to Har-Hi said. “Your ID cards!”

The other snickered. “Pray that we find nothing wrong with your ID Cards, there are still seats available on the next flights to the Smelter Moons.”

Shea had hacked into the local computer system and our Nanite factory aboard the Tigershark had no problem to copy the old ID card of Commander Jutika and manufacture new ones that would match the data Shea had fed into the local security data net. So we handed them our ID cards. One of them pulled a blocky device from a belt holder and scanned our ID cards.

They both saluted and handed the cards back. “Sorry we didn’t know you were of the secret police.”

I barked at them. “What good would it be to have a secret police if everyone knew who’s in it?”

We simply turned and left them where they were.

Har-Hi said to me as we passed under the legs of a statue. “I wish we could stick those two jack-boots on one of those flights.”

I said to him. “We are planning to free the slaves, not add more.”

He grunted something I didn’t understand, but I was sure it was a colorful insult directed at the two Drak officers, and then he looked up and down the street and said. “Now where is this bar we are supposed to go too? I see dozens of bars and they all look equally uninviting to me.”

I glanced at my PDD by pushing the sleeve of my boiler suit back and said. “Do you see a Thirsty Torch? If our map data is correct we should be about 20 meters from it.”

Finally we noticed a busted light sign where only the letters ‘Thi’ and ‘rch’ still worked.

We went in. The bar was packed but we managed to find a table. Har-Hi and I ordered something that looked like beer and when the unsavory looking waiter left, Har-Hi leaned forward. “Now what, how are we supposed to make contact and how would they know who we are?”

I said “Patience my friend, patience is an important trait in this clandestine spy business, besides we have already been contacted.”

He hissed. “It was you who ran around doing all these spy things while we thought you got killed or worse. I am just a simple Dai pirate who happens to be an Union officer.”

“Nobody asked me if I even wanted to be abducted and run around and learn the spy business.”

He pretended to sip at the beer and said. “I didn’t mean it that way and you know it. It is this place that gives me the creeps. So how did we get contacted, I saw nothing”.

“Look at your beer coaster.”

He looked at the glass and said. “I still see nothing, just some doodles and beer brand advertisement.”

“You don’t think that doodle there looks very much like a Union fleet chevron.”

“Yes now that you mention it, but it seems to be on every beer coaster, I think it is just a doodle and not a very good one. Besides how would the contact know we are the ones? We look like everyone else here.”

He is giving out the coasters to everyone, but only a Union contact would know that this is an unfinished Union Chevron doodle. I just completed it, dumped my drink under the table and ordered another beer.”

The waiter, a smudgy looking Ithe placed a new beer before me and took the glass along with the coaster.

He came back a few moments later and put a smaller glass with a clear liquid that smelled real strong before me and said. “Sorry for spilling your beer, here is a Rothir throat burner on the house.”

I said. “You better get me another Rothir throat burner; you know how ugly my domestic home partner is.”

He said. “Is she as ugly as her sister Tenea?”

“No Tenea looks like a Visualizer star compared to her.”

“Meet me in twenty minutes outside and keep a low profile.”

He left.

Har-Hi said. “You do have a knack for this. I read the same instructions Cherubim send to us and there was no mention of Rothir throat burner or a Sister Tenea, or was there?”

“It was a variation of contact scenario seventeen. The booze name changes according to local conditions and the sister’s name is changed daily with the Day code transmission, but the rest is a predetermined NAVINT contact procedure.”

He sniffed at the Throat burner and said. “As I said you received specialized Intel training we did not.”

He was right of course, while the others enjoyed their first break, I was conditioned at Pauli Station and received Blue-Blue-Red clearance before my second year really started, not to mention my time with Mother Superior. Just then a fight started at a neighboring table. An Oghr and a very strong looking Ithe male started exchanging blows and kicks. The situation escalated to other tables fast.

It was all fine for us until an Oghr insulted Har-Hi and sloshed the content of a beer mug all over my friends face, calling him a coward and other names.

My friend tried to stay calm and out of the brawl, but after he had to block a fist aimed at his temple. He got up and of course I had to get up as well to keep his back.

About five or ten minutes later Har-Hi held the dazed Oghr by the throat and forced him to his knees and poured a glass of beer slowly over the greenish skull of his opponent.

I looked around but no one was left standing. Except for the painful groaning of an Ithe worker who hung over a support beam above the tables, it was very quiet.

The frightened bar keeper slowly appeared behind the bar counter and made big eyes. Har Hi pushed the Oghr away, who instantly crawled under the last standing table for cover and he buried his brutish face between his knees as Har-Hi turned once more to look at him.

I approached the shaking bar keeper. He had somewhat humanoid features and I wondered if he was an Oghr-human hybrid of sorts as he had features of both species. He was at least two heads taller than me and yet he was clearly frightened and as I approached he started shaking. I said to him. “Sorry about the damage. I think this got a little out of hand. How much would I owe you for the cleanup?”

He blinked with his reddish eyes and then said in a meek voice that didn’t really fit the tall muscular body. “You didn’t start the fight, I saw it. I don’t want to...”

“I am not going to hurt you; I really want to pay for the damage.”

He straightened out a little and then looked around and said. “I guess 25,000 Huthkarta or 2,000 Union Credits would do the trick.”

I pulled my credit box and said. “All I got is Unions.”

He became all business and friendly and deducted the sum into an ancient looking Union Bank Transferomat. The thing pinged and he now appeared really happy and said in a more jovial tone. “They tear up the place almost every week; it’s the first time someone pays. I get the place cleaned and throw the dead into the Composter and no worries; the Law never comes here.”

I also looked around and said. “I don’t think we killed anyone.”

Har-Hi grunted and motioned me to follow him outside and he pointed at an Oghr worker sticking head first in a hole in the wall and said. “He doesn’t look to fresh and the one you threw over the rafters isn’t moving either. Maybe this isn’t what he meant by keeping a low profile.”

I looked at him and said with a guilty tone in my voice. “Maybe I overreacted a tad, but you should learn to hold back just as well. What you did wasn’t exactly pulling punches either.”

He opened the door for me and said. “We better get out of here before they change their mind and call the local law enforcement after all.

We left through the front door, where we were intercepted by the smudgy looking waiter. “Quick, come and follow me.”

He scurried before us and made such a quick turn in a narrow, dark alley we almost walked past.

He didn’t speak but kept on leading us through a virtual labyrinth of alleys and back yards, until he finally slowed down at the back door of a desolate looking building. He said to me. “Day code?”

I answered. “Classic Red”

He knocked at the door in a particular rhythm. It opened and he urged us to rush in.

To the Smelter Moons

The door was opened by a greenish skinned being that looked like an Oghr, but was even shorter than the Ithe waiter who had guided us so far.

In my short time traveling the galaxy, I had already seen strange beings and the saying went that beauty lay in the eye of the beholder. I was certain someone in the universe would find this gnarled looking being pretty, but I could not find any other description than ugly. Har-Hi whispered. “She’s a Laurin Oghr, they are even shunned by other Oghr species, and their five star-system is the smallest kingdom and the closest from here if I remember correctly.”

Behind the door was a narrow corridor. The walls were as shabby looking as the doors and adorned with graffiti, cracked plaster and exposed brick work. The place reeked just like the liquid Nefkin had splashed on Har-Hi and Ninety. Light came from weak globe like things hanging on short strings from the ceiling, only two of the eight that used to be there still worked, the rest were missing or smashed. I heard the wailing of an Ithe child somewhere and the sound of alien Tele-entertainment coming from behind a door that had lost much of its original paint. The narrow corridor was even further restricted by a flight of creaking stairs leading upward.

Har-Hi whispered, “Beings actually live like that? The dungeons on our Dai Mother are a more cheerful place than this.”

The Ithe waiter who had heard him said, “This is how the majority of Ithe workers live. The rent here is barely affordable and takes about 50 percent of their meager pay.”

I looked around and said. “I’ve seen worse, even at home.”

Har-Hi said. “You tell me they have worse places on Nilfeheim than this?”

I turned my head while we ascended the creaking wooden stairs and said to him. “Yes, our own burg used to have tanneries that were much worse than this. I am sure there are still many burgs and clan chiefs that treat their Low men just as bad as slaves. I have also seen the tenant blocks of the Bottom-Low on Sin 4.”

Har-Hi stomped up a few steps behind me and then said. “Maybe when all this is done, we need to visit your Nilfeheim and make sure our own conditions are in order.”

I agreed with him and said, “My Grandfather and my former wife are working on this right now. Things change slowly on Nilfeheim but they are changing.”

“If there is Nilfeheim, I wonder if there are other places on Union side like that?”

“I never really thought about it, but I think there are. Remember the conditions on Thauran worlds forced a lieutenant to do bad things, the Union is so big. I am sure there are places like this. I am also sure they are the exception.”

“Still we should do something about it, I mean we as the Union society.”

The stairs were worn out and made a horrible creaking racked, but they were still better than the snow and ice covered stone steps hewn into the mountain side at Heswick. I looked over my shoulder.”As a society we can’t. We must uphold an individuals society choice without projecting our standards. The big difference however is that anyone living in conditions like that can walk to a Union Citizens desk and complain. It might not always be easy but it is done all the time.”

He sighed and agreed with a frown.

The next floor looked just like the one below, our guide went on to tackle the next flight of stairs and I asked. “How many stairs do we need to climb?”

The gnarled Laurin Oghr who had yet to say a word held up both her claw like hands and showed me five of her fingers, she had three fingers and a thumb on each hand.

Har-Hi cursed and said. “This dump has five stories, doesn’t it have an elevator?”

Something strange happened, the Oghr woman was only looking at Har-Hi without saying a word yet and he seemed to answer to a statement she made.

He said to her. “You got to be kidding, fourteen levels and a permanently broken elevator; I pity those who live all the way up and have to climb these stairs every day.”

While we kept climbing I asked my Dai friend. “Was she whispering or something? I haven’t heard a word out of her so far.”

Har-Hi who was behind me on the stairs said with a strange smug tone in his voice. “She hasn’t shut up since she opened the door.”

I was still wondering about that as we reached the fifth floor. Oghr were not known to be psionic gifted and even if she was, Har-Hi was a Union officer and thus should have been shielded. But only Psionics could explain that he could hear her and I could not.This fifth floor did not look any different up here than it looked on the previous floor, except perhaps a little less graffiti. The old woman opened a door at the end of the corridor. It looked just like any of the other doors, peeling paint, exposed press-wood, that started to disintegrate at the corners.

The Ithe waiter said. “This is as far as I go; I need to go back to work and from the mess you both made it will be a long night cleaning up.”

Without waiting for a response and without turning he went back to the stairs and rushed down. We entered what looked exactly like a poor old woman’s apartment supposed to look. Pieces of wet laundry hung on strings. The walls were covered with a once decorative layer of papery material, which peeled in large sections off the wall. A moldy, organic odor with a slight sour and rancid smell hung in the air. There was a tiny living room that was decorated with cheap plastic and ceramic knick knacks of alien design and smudgy seat cushions instead of a sofa or chairs.

An old looking electronic boxy looking device with a flat 2D screen flickered grainy pictures of a military parade. A door led out from the living room onto a tiny balcony, with barely enough room for a person to stand. A flimsy looking rusty railing missing several pieces appeared to be an awfully inadequate safety measure. The vista from her balcony was as depressing as the rest of the apartment. All one could see was the brick wall of another building just like this less than five meters distance. I was sure this Ithe made canyon of brick and concrete created one of those narrow alleys we had rushed through coming here. I had my hand on the butt of my blaster I was carrying underneath the boiler suit and checked the rest of the small flat. There was a tiny hygiene chamber and a small bedroom with a pile of blankets on the floor that appeared to be the bed of the old woman. This was supposed to be a NAVINT contact and so far everything appeared all right, but I no longer trusted appearances and wanted to make sure we were alone in the apartment. This was only one safety measure of mine; I hated to be surprised in situations like this. As I returned to the living room, Har-Hi seemed in a conversation with the old Oghr woman, yet I could only hear his responses. She held up a framed picture of a much younger and somewhat less ugly looking Laurin Oghr wearing a dark gray uniform and standing next to a black flyer.

Har-Hi said. “Ah I see your son is the pilot chauffeur to the magistrate.”

I spread my arms and said. “Can someone tell me why I can’t hear a thing?”

I was certain Har-H I was actually grinning behind his Ithe disguise as he said. “Patience my Captain, patience is an important trait in this clandestine spy business. Someone told me that once and not too long ago.”

I wished I could actually stick my tongue out at him and said. “Right back at me, I know.”

He chuckled and said. “You can’t hear the woman because she is a Bunthik and has many methods of having a conversation.”

“Didn’t you say she is a Laurin Oghr?”

The old Oghr spoke for the first time in heavy accented Union Lingo. “They tell me you are a formidable Captain and all that, but it is apparent you haven’t spent much time outside the protected Union space of ours.”

I glared at her, forgetting that glaring was not really possible with stalk eyes and said.

“You are quite correct; it’s more or less my first time.”

Then I looked around and said. “We are able to speak freely. I made sure of that.”

She said. “So did you? This apartment is bugged and under surveillance like every other apartment, but here are even more bugs than elsewhere and when my son comes there are actual agents listening, not just recorders and machines.”

She pointed to her ceiling lamp. “Karthanian Intelligence visualizer” Then she gestured towards the window, “Laser ear picking up the sound vibrations of every spoken word.”

I completed her litany and said. “Drak audio amplifiers embedded in the wall. Your neighbor to the right only lives there to keep an eye on you. I might be a bit green around the gills when it comes to this sector of space, old woman but don’t mistake my apparent youth for foolishness.”

She cackled a dry laugh and said. “It appears that she who calls you Soja has trained you well indeed, how do you know all this?”

I said to her. “I won’t let you see all my rune stones before I know more.”

She laughed again. “Whatever you do to make this flat surveillance proof, please stop it. There are very advanced NAVINT devices that feed the listeners all sorts of information, just not the real kind.”

I exposed my Wrist Comm. and said. “Shea, you heard the woman I am sure, give the word to Circuit and the others.”

Shea’s spoke directly through the tiny ear piece I carried and she said. “Yes Captain. Our team followed you and was busy securing the place. Circuit is recalling his Nanites and Lt. Bergdorf who was right behind you is on his way back to base. However Narth and Ensign Three-Four have already neutralized the laser ear agents. They are happily lasering the neighbor’s window now and Lt.Fifcher made the neighbor watch a Tele-entertainment show instead of listening in, do you want them to do reverse that?”

I responded. “No, let it be and tell everyone to stand by for the next part of our plan.” “Aye Captain.”

The woman said. “Relax Captain we have been doing this for years now. Would you care for a cup of Young-grass tea? My son won’t be here for at last another hour.”

I declined, saying: “No I am fine.”

The little kitchen area was separated only by a different floor cover from the living room and she begun to boil water anyway and while she prepared tea she said. “Yes I am of the Laurin Oghr Kingdom.” She paused and made sure I saw her opening one of the shabby cupboards filled with miss matching cups and dishes, some made of faded plastic and some of chipped ceramics. With a gesture to the cupboard she asked again. “Something else perhaps, I have beer, ale or something to eat?”

I raised my hand. “No not at the moment.” I did not want to explain to her that the disguises we wore didn’t let us eat or drink as Ithe and human facial features did not line up. Besides I wasn’t a big fan of tea or the local cuisine.

She snickered and said. “Suit yourself then.”

The shelves inside the cup-board suddenly moved up, cups, plates and all, while with an almost inaudible humming sound a modern, expensive SII-MOLRECON Serv-Matic pushed into view. The machine produced a cup of tea in no time and it did not smell like the bitter grass tea that everyone on this world appeared to be drinking. She said: “Since we have a little time, I believe it won’t hurt if you learn a little about the Oghr kingdoms as they are strewn all over this region of space and some of them are quite big and a force to be recognized.”

I sighed silently and sat down in one of the cushions.

She pointed at her own face and said. “This is not a disguise, I am really that ugly and I am really of the Oghr race and I am well aware how other beings look at us. It is a curse we bear for a very long time. Even the other Oghr species usually shun us and don’t give us the time of day.”

She sipped on her tea and gestured towards Har-Hi. “Your friend is Dai. He knows much more about the Oghrs then the usual Union members. Yes you may know a little about your own Oghrs, the ones that were smart and joined our illustrious Union, but what about the Nine Kingdoms out there? Your Dai friend he surprised me, he even knows one of the ancient and quite secretive sign languages and knows about the Bunthik.”

She raised her hands holding the cup and her fingers moved in what I thought was just a nervous habit and now I saw Har-Hi who still had his arms crossed move the fingers of his right hands in a similar fashion.

He said. “Because the Laurin Oghr are smaller and weaker than any of the other Oghr species they do not hire out as mercenaries, heavy laborers or guards as many of the Oghrs you know do. The Laurin are however known to be good domestic laborers. You know the ones doing laundry, tailoring, gardening and being chauffeurs and such. They are ugly and they know it and because of it they learned to stay out of sight as much as possible, they do their work almost as if being invisible and have made an art out of that. This talent gained them a very good reputation and Laurin domestics often get better pay than domestics of other species.”

I listened as my friend told me about multi-cultural interactions of beings and species I barely knew existed.

The Oghr woman said. “Our kind is promoting and cultivating this reputation for a very long time. However as much as you can be a good domestic you can be a bad one. The talents my species cultivated over the millennia can also be used for other purposes. Those who leave our poor kingdom to seek employment as domestics elsewhere are known at home as the Ranthik. However those who use their skills for other purposes are called the Bunthik. When a Laurin is exposed as being part of the Bunthik he or she is executed in public and by the judgment of our Queen herself for the damage it could cause to the Laurin Oghr reputation.”

She sighed and sipped from her cup, before she continued saying. “Our kind has caught the short end of the stick in many ways after the big Oghr war that broke up the old Empire. We have been breed and used for domestics in the old days and the former Oghr Colonies that became the Laurin Kingdom are poor on natural resources. Being a good domestic is like a religion to us. It is a way of life for almost 5000 years.”

She put the cup down and looked at us for a moment as to see if we still paid attention. Satisfied with whatever she saw she continued to explain. “The Bunthik are like the worm in the Union, a secretive underground organization. They are among the best thieves in the Universe and they know how to obtain information from their masters without them knowing and use it for black mail for example or to sell information to the highest bidder. We Bunthik began our existence out of resentment to be nothing but domestics, barely above slaves. Shunned and dismissed as ugly, forced to dwell in the shadows or wear funny face masks and robes, so we don’t offend has been accepted as our lot in life by the Ranthik, but not by us. One of these days, Captain Velvet you need to learn why there are so many different Oghr species and why it is not nature that made us so ugly and weak.”

She sighed sounding quite human. The Bunthik are a small group, hunted almost to extinction and to stay alive and to give our skills and knowledge to new generations, we have developed many secretive ways, including forms of communication no uninitiated observer would ever even notice.”

Shea who was on the bridge of the Tigershark and holding the Conn at the moment could see what we saw through the micro optics installed in the stalk eyes and she said into my ear piece. “She needs to be more careful. I have decrypted her finger language. She was asking Har-Hi how he knows that sign language so well and he told her that his nanny was a Bunthik who taught him many of their secrets.”

I turned and asked him. “So how come you had an Oghr nanny?”

The Old woman said. “She learns fast, your Captain.”

He sighed. “Yes she does especially since she has a Level 12 Intellect girlfriend peeking and giving her advice.”

To me he said. “My tribe once raided an Oghr convoy and a Laurin Oghr was one of the survivors. As you know my tribe never participated in slave trade and we never used any sentient beings as forced laborers. We set the survivors free, but she who later became my nanny wanted to stay with us. At first she acted as a spy for an Oghr king, but she really liked me and came clean to my father. She stayed with us and became the Nanny of all my father’s children.”

From the subtle tones of his voice I noticed how much he cared about that Nanny and I wondered why he had never told me about her before.

Our host got up and put the Serv-Matic away, then she said pointing at the Tele-entertainment viewer and the images flickered more than before. “My son has entered the building. He has two guards with him; they will come in for a short moment, check out the apartment and then leave us alone. So I must ask you to hide until they are gone.”

Shea said into my ear. “The apparent flickers of the visuals are a code as well.”

She made us go into the tiny hygiene room. It had only room for a body waste disposal unit that appeared to be made of concrete, a small sink with mirror and a shower stall. She said. “You can see and hear what is going from here and as soon as they are gone you can come out.”

Har-Hi said. “What kind of security goons would not look here first? It’s not exactly a very good hiding place. Not that your apartment has many other choices.”

She wiggled her fingers saying, “Silly Dai” and closed the door. We could hear her walking to the front door.

I whispered to Har Hi. “I have to agree this was a silly hiding place. They will check this place first.”

Har-Hi tapped me on the shoulder and I turned. The mirror above the small sink no longer reflected our images. Instead we could see a mirror image of the small bathroom but without us. We watched as two Ithe in gray coats opened the door looked into the empty bathroom, left the door open and we could even see them step out the front door. The old woman closed her flat door and now I noticed that the entire bathroom rotated 180 degrees. Har-Hi said. “I think this shabby apartment has more than one hidden surprise.”

I agreed. “This is pretty useful if you urgently need a second toilet too.”

A somewhat taller and younger version of the old woman stood in her small living room. That he was male I only assumed because she called him his son and that she was female was only because she was wearing things that looked like things an old woman would wear. Other than those hints there were no real differences between the two Laurin Oghr. Both their skin was greenish and they had big heads that sat on their shoulders without a visible neck. Like their big Oghr relatives they had big maws and yellowish tusks piercing their lower lips. Their tusks were of course much smaller than those of full size Oghrs.

What made them so ugly were the deformed faces, and humps that had the appearance of wart like growths. It looked as if the skin was more or less loosely draped over their skulls and was full of wrinkles and flaps. In appearance they reminded me of the Yotenen, the disguise Mother Superior had chosen as she helped me to escape the slave pen on Alvor’s Cove. I wondered how the old woman knew that Mother Superior called me Soja and the only explanation was they knew each other.

The Oghr in the black uniform held out his hand and said. “I am Cracktik. May I ask you to identify yourself and I insist on Blue-Blue-Red protocol.”

I wondered how this would be possible, but I pressed the biological sensor section that was part of my officer’s implant I had received at the academy. It transmitted a weak Trans Dim-scatter pattern message pulse from my CITI with a complicated code sequence that could only be received by military grade Computronics that were linked to MATA HARI the NAVINT AI.

The old Visualizer screen switched from the grainy flickering images to a crystal clear 3D field screen and the typical female computronic voice all Fleet systems had in common said. “Blue-Blue-Red protocol initiated. Correct sequence one received.”

The Oghr chauffeur must have done the same thing as the voice verified receiving sequence two. I swiped my code key against his PDD and he did the same to mine. Only after we also exchanged the basic day code was the procedure complete and he satisfied. He said. “Captain Olafson it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Lt. Commander Cracktik, NAVINT Section 912. Welcome to NAVINT Field Office Itheamh.”

He gestured to the old woman. “This is Lt. Commander Crackta and she really is my mother. I know this is a bit unconventional but things are never as easy and straightforward in the Intelligence business as they are in the Fleet.”

I acknowledged his statement with a nod.

He gestured us to find seats and took a cup of tea from his mother then he said. “I am a Lauran Oghr, my parents were domestics of a Drak officer many years ago and while they accompanied him and his household on a trip off planet, the ship was raided by Togar corsairs, my father did not survive the attack and we became Togar prisoners. The Togar consider us Laurin to ugly even for soup and sold us to a slaver. We were purchased by a Karthanian alongside with several Union citizens. We were set free on Outpost 175. My mother had no place to go; she was an ugly Laurin Oghr with a small child.”

The old woman seamlessly took over the story and her eyes glittered moist. “The Union immigration officers treated us kindly and showed compassion. For the first time in my life I was treated like a real being. I was asked for my needs, my child received medical care and no one looked down on us for what we were or how we looked. I was asked for my opinion, my wishes and when I asked if I could stay I was not turned away. I received my Union school right there on Outpost 175. There were Togar in my class and Bruth Oghrs, a Karthanian and other former slaves and all were treated equally by a Klack teacher. I learned that I did not have to be a domestic and could become whatever I want to be.”

She looked intensely at me. “I took the 10,000 credits start capital and went straight to Arsenal. I had only one wish and that was to serve the Union and repay them for that kindness. My son and I took this assignment gladly, as Laurin could easily mix and mingle with Drak.”

Her son added. “Now you know how two ugly Laurin Oghr became NAVINT officers and Union citizens. Mother and I have been here for over 15 years now and I steadily worked my way up and became the chauffeur pilot of the ruling elite. Two years ago I was picked to be the Chauffeur of the first Magistrate and he trusts me as much as a Drak can. I have no vices, no friends and no contact to the Ithe. The only thing I do is visit my old mother.

Not much has happened in those years. I collect information and mother prepares the weekly reports. A lot has changed in the past days however. The successful uprising of the Instigators and them defeating even the Karthanian war machines made the Drak very nervous. They fear that this might be the end of their reign. They fear the rebels to an extent, but they really fear the Karthanian and what the Bonefaces might do to express their disappointment and to insure their influence.” He waved at the Tele-entertainment device, the images changed and we could see the First Magistrate sitting in the back of a luxury flier. The angle of the visual was strangely off and appeared as if the visual sensor was mounted to the fliers ceiling. We could see the Laurin Chauffeur and a second gray coated Draak sitting next to the Magistrate. The Drak had no rank insignia at all. I recognized the first magistrate by the big single medal he wore, he was the official we met right outside the pirate tavern; the monster who ordered the killing of women and children.

Cracktik said. “This is the most feared of all Drak; he stays in the shadows and leads the Secret Police.”

The visuals also had acoustics. The secret police chief said to the first magistrate. “Your Excellency, I am sure the Instigators around that cursed Togar have outside help. There is no other explanation as to how they managed to disable Karthanian Sky Eyes and defeat the Ognyx at the battle in Craha. We have very conflicting reports and none are too credible. Some reports claim the Ognyx started fighting each other. Others swear they saw one lifted into the sky only to drop onto another. No one can explain why nine of them flipped and marched against our forces. The reports are form the most part utter nonsense of course, but the fact remains they have been destroyed.”

The Magistrate pulled on his gloves and asked. “Who do you think is helping the rebel scum? There aren’t that many civilizations out there that could defeat Ognyx walkers. The Shiss and the Nul, then there are the always meddling Kermac. Of course the Union could defeat a planet full of Ognyx and then there are the Togar.” The secret police man opened a brief case and pulled a plastic sheet.

“We are too far from Shiss territory and if we can believe this Intel report I received from Karthania then they have other problems than a little planet like us. According to this rumor the Nul have come to an agreement with the Union and some say they have become allies and even join the Union.”

The Magistrate took the film sheet and glanced at it.

“What utter nonsense. I am truly not an expert in those things but everyone knows the Nul and the Union will eventually go to war against each other. The Nul trust no one, ever since the Shiss have betrayed them and the war mongering Union is only waiting for an excuse to go to war.”

“Your Excellency, I know it sounds very unlikely but I would not dismiss these reports. I have independent reports overhearing Union freighter captains in the foreigner district bars at the space port that collaborate this report. Even if the Nul and the Union simply sign some non-aggression pact then this is very bad news for the Shiss. I must remind you, we also believed the report that the Golden are Union now was pure nonsense and yet the Golden Outpost here is now officially a Union trading center complete with one of their fabulous GalNet terminals.” The secret police man was unfazed and pulled another sheet. “As much as our Masters in the Sky are big and mighty to us, the Karthanian are but a speck to both the Galactic Council and the Union. There are no indications of Kermac or Galactic Union activity in this region. Their spheres of influence are far away from this sector of space. The Kermac are way too busy dealing with a Union that is growing in leaps and bounds.

I am sure they would be interested if our Bone Faced friends finally get to blows with the Togar. But it is more likely that they interfere on behalf of the Karthanian as the Togar hate the Kermac as much as the Union does. What we do with the Ithe is what the Kermac do for millennia with their thrall species; I doubt they would interfere on a world as unimportant as Itheamh.”

Again the Magistrate took the page, this time he did not crush it and glance on it. He then said. “That leaves us with what?”

The Secret Police Chief said. “It leaves us with the Union and the Togar. Neither the Oghr nor the Dai who are also powerful forces in this region have ever interfered in such a way. The Dai so rumors exist are firmly allied with our masters and the Oghr don’t do anything unless they get paid for it and then they do it directly and with open force.”

The Magistrate kept looking at the plastic sheet. “The Union was here on official business four years ago. They could have interfered back then, but they left. Their own laws prevented them from taking the plea of the Rebels back then. The Union considers us the Drak the legitimate official voice of Itheamh and unless we go to them, this world is as unimportant to them as a speck of dust. Their Corporations do good business with our Karthanian Overlords and losing Itheamh as trade port would cut in their profits.”

The Police chief agreed. “Of all, the Union is the least likely source for the help. They consider themselves the good ones and are strict sticklers to their own laws. I too think it is the Togar, and this Ninety is not a slave but a Togar agent. Those cats itch for a fight against Karthania and the sooner the better as the Togar fear that the Karthanian will eventually outrun them in terms of technology.”

The Magistrate rubbed his stalk eyes and said. “That leaves us in between; our Overlords will not permit this world to fall under Togar control.”

With measured moves, the Police chief pulled a third plastic sheet from his brief case. “This is my greatest concern, Your Excellency. I have direct word from the Guild assembly at Karthania.

The Guild Masters want to send Oghr troops to pacify the entire planet and restore order. This time enslaving all Ithe and all Drak and put an Oghr military tribunal in charge as they have done on Moghd, a world quite similar to our planet and also one of their outlet and contact worlds.”

Har-Hi and I watched silently as the leader of this world asked his police chief. “How long do we have until the Oghr troops arrive?”

The police chief said. “I am not sure, but when they arrive. You and I are no longer needed. The Ithe and the Drak that survive will all become little more than slaves.”

The Magistrate put on his hat and said. “The last word has not been spoken. The puppet is about to cut the strings and we will show the Instigators and the Kartanians that we Drak are the masters of this world after all.” The recording stopped.

The Oghr woman added saying. “We don’t have very reliable intelligence assets inside Karthania but my Oghr sources say the Karthanians have secured the services of King Fithark of the Orkh-Oghr. King Fithark rules over the largest and most advanced Oghr Kingdom outside of those that are Union now. They are most closely related to your Oromals, the big ones.”

Har-Hi said to me. “Seven to eight feet tall, almost as strong as our Botnaar, tough enough to go toe to toe with a Shiss if necessary, very well trained mercenaries who take their reputation and soldiering very seriously. Their training is very good. Mercy and restrain are unknown to them and they approach Tech level 7 in many areas, especially weapons.”

The old woman continued saying. “Rumors have it, the Karthanians paid for five regiments, that’s one thousand Orkhs each; in full battle gear. We are almost certain five regiment ships left Ooh Planet yesterday. So we estimate them to arrive in ten or twelve days. Depending how active the Togar and the Dai are, forcing them to take a longer route.”

While I was listening and processing the information with all the attention I could muster, I wanted to scratch an itch on my nose so bad and silently cursed the mass of Bioflex syntho flesh before my face and said barely able to keep myself from sneezing. “Five troop ships you say, filled with vicious warriors, maybe we can intercept them before they become a problem here.”

The Chauffeur said. “This is not all the news I have for you, Captain, as this is what the Karthanian plan to do. The Drak also have plans of their own, they do not want to go without a fight. They see their star fading fast.” He gestured towards the Tele-Entertainment device and a new recording was shown. We could see the two Drak from before enter the flyer limousine.

The Magistrate leaned forward. “Cracktik take us to the Peoples Palace and take the scenic route.”

We could hear Cracktik respond and the flier taking off. The Police man gestured towards the driver. “Over two years I am trying to find anything on this ugly Oghr and yet all my efforts show him to be utmost loyal and most of all silent. He does not talk to anyone, doesn’t go to bars and does not socialize much with others. I wish I had a man so trustworthy in my employment, but I still think we should close the screen.”

A transparent divider slid into place, but the audio visual bug was still in the same compartment with the two Drak.

The Secret Police chief shifted his position and looked at the Magistrate. “I know we are in a serious situation, but do you really think we should consider?”

The Magistrate also shifted his position and said. “What else is there? The Ancient Terror will cost our lives and our souls, it might cost the lives of millions but it will confirm Drak rule that is the agreement.”

“You know me as the most ardent defender of our ways and yet even I shiver and fear the consequences. We do not know what it will really do, what it really is. We could simply leave, you know. I have a ship load of Polo coins and several thousand tons of Crystal. A fortune in any place, and I know you have a treasure more than equal.”

“And where would you go? Karthania does not allow strangers among their midst, not even us their puppets. The Togar will have a feast on our flesh and take our Polos.”

“The Union, we could go there.”

“Crystal has not much value there and I know there are Ithe who live free in the Union. They hunt us for what we have done, no old friend. I am the Magistrate and this is my world. I am the law and I tell who dies and who lives. We have a Terror, a weapon at our disposal that will consume all that stands against us and I will use it.”

Again the recording stopped and the NAVINT spy said.

“The Magistrate has spoken about an ancient terror before, something he believes, will secure their victory, but at the cost of thousand souls including his.”

The Oghr spread his hands. “Captain I am a trained Union Intelligence officer and I do not believe in the supernatural, but the way he speaks about it, makes it sound like a demon or something like that.”

Har-Hi glanced at me from the side. “We Dai are more superstitious and I am not so easily dismissing the supernatural. I have seen strange and weird things, but I too am a Union officer and I am certain it can all be rationally explained and always has a scientific base.”

I leaned forward. “We still need to know what it is. I remember the bugs and those face hugging bat worms and I fought something called a Shogotrz. I don’t think whatever it is he is talking about will stop the changes that will happen.”

Har-Hi asked. “Do you know what weapons were used to make the first planet inhospitable? The Drak destroyed their world. Could he not talk about a cache of whatever it was they used then?”

The old female Oghr rubbed her lantern jar. “No one really knows. Some say it was dirty atomic weapons. You know the old kind that leaves a lot of radiation for a very long time. Other sources say it was a biological weapon, a virus or a bacteria and some claim it was a combination of both. We do know it was the Karthanians who gave them whatever it was, out of two reasons, to force the Drak of their home world so they could mine it and to create the horrible conditions on Ithe so their help would be accepted.”

I said. “Whatever it is we better find out, neither biological weapons nor radiation could hurt us, but to an unshielded population...”

The Chauffeur said. “I am taking the magistrate there tomorrow. Wherever that is, as I never get the travel plans prior to departure.”

This time I cursed loudly and said. “I want to be on my way to the Smelter Moons by tomorrow.”

Har-Hi said. “Well that means you can’t be everywhere and have to trust your crew. Why don’t you and Narth tackle the Moons and have me, Shea and the others take on whatever the Magistrate is hiding. Whatever it is I doubt there is anything your crew can’t handle.”

An electronic sound came from the Chauffeurs body and he pulled a boxy looking device and said into it. “Cracktik here.”

A voice said. “His excellency will not need you today anymore and said you may stay with your mother if you wish. We will pick you up in the morning.” He acknowledged and pocketed the device again.

Then he said. “It seems I have a little more time. So I can show you our actual Intel HQ.”

I said. “But we don’t have all that much time. I still need to reconnoiter the space port and find out where the prisoners are kept that are to be shipped to the Smelter moons. I have a lot of things to organize and finally, I want to get out of this get up. I don’t mind costumes, but I really need to blow my nose!”

They both laughed and he said. “Just follow me and you can do just that. We can check out the space port much easier from here.”

He then gestured us to follow him. He walked outside on the small balcony and the rusty railing tilted away. He stepped onto thin air and vanished as he walked right into the brick wall on the other side.

Even though I was certain there was an invisible force field bridge and the brick wall had to be a hologram of sorts. I had to convince my feet it was so. I had flown and climbed, walked on greasy rafters under the high ceiling of the Halls of Hasvik, but walking over apparently nothing and a deep chasm took all my courage.

The brick wall did not feel insubstantial like a hologram. It was more like diving into a vertical surface of honey or water. The sensation was over before I really registered it and we found ourselves in a small but modern looking Command and Control room. With large field screens and several control stations. A human male and a purple throat Shiss manned two of the stations. They wore Union fleet uniforms with NAVINT patches on their sleeves. For a moment I lost my communications link with Shea and the ship. My PDD whispered through my ear piece. “Current location Trans Dim shielded, direct ComLink to ship lost. Rerouting through local authorized NAVINT system.”

The Oghr NAVINT commander pointed at the wall we just walked through and said. “Molecular Phasing as the eggheads at Terra call it. It is one of the latest developments Mothermachine came up with the concept.”

He sounded very proud and enthusiastic as he added. “It feels as if Union technology is developing even faster than usual.”

I agreed with him by nodding.

The old woman stepped through an auto dresser nearby and emerged still looking ugly, but her smudgy clothing was gone. She wore a crisp Fleet uniform with the stylized Eye symbol of the Intel branch on her left sleeve and she straightened her stance and looked several inches taller.

She said. “I have so little chance of wearing the uniform and it is the first time we are going to meet the Immortals.”

She tugged at her uniform blouse and said. “You might think of me as silly, but to me it is a very pleasurable experience, as it reminds me why I am doing all this and what we stand for.”

The old Oghr woman brushed her hand with a caressing gesture over the United Stars of the Galaxies flag patch on her right sleeve.

I said to her. “I know exactly how you feel Commander. We are undercover and for the most part wear costumes and disguises”

She gestured to the Auto Dresser and said. “Feel free to use it. It is Saresii technology.”

Har-Hi and I did.

I was sure I felt just like the Oghr woman as I stepped back out seeing myself in Union black, with the diagonal buttoned uniform blouse, actually called a bib shirt in the regulations hand book. It was worn correctly with the lower half buttoned down showing the white inner lining like a large triangle across my chest. I could not deny myself feeling pride, because my sleeve cuffs displayed captain’s gold. I was a little surprised to see Har-Hi not in Dai red but also in Union uniform and I had to admit, he looked very handsome indeed.

He said looking down on himself. “Who would have thought we’d end up in Uniform today?” He jerked at his sleeves and added. “It does feel good remembering that we are indeed Union officers, the Oghr woman is right, it makes you aware that you are part of something bigger.”

We followed them into a separate small conference room with a kidney shaped table and a dozen chairs. After the door closed three Avatar projections established and to us it appeared as if Stahl, McElligott and Cherubim were right here with us. The male Oghr called us to attention and we saluted them.

The eternal soldier looked as always, tall, imposing and even the avatar projection radiated his invisible aura of confident authority.

He looked at me and said. “What’s with the Uniforms and the parade ground antics?”

The Oghr woman said with sheer awe vibrating her voice. “We are in the presence of the highest ranking officers. The Admiral of the Fleet, General Cherubim and you Sir! We wanted to honor you by wearing uniform and adhering to protocol, Sir.”

Cherubim elbowed the Eternal Warrior. “That your protégé isn’t much impressed by us is one thing, but you do have that special presence Old Man. Even I still feel it after all that time.”

McElligott waved his hand. “He is way too overrated, besides they are right. A little proper spit and polish is just fine with me.”

Stahl’s expression was stern and his face as if chiseled in granite as always, but he was one of those people who could smile with his eyes only.

McElligott, as immortal and as old as Stahl, and usually an authority and dominating presence but it always got lost when he was with Stahl. The woman known as Cherubim was still an enigma to me, as I knew very little about her.

McElligott nodded pleased. “How nice you all look, unlike my friend here I appreciate the uniforms.”

The two Oghr still stood in attention even as Stahl gave us the sign to relax.

Stahl only raised an eyebrow towards the Admiral of the Fleet, while Cherubim said to all of us. “You may relax and sit down.”

The male Oghr said. “I never thought I would ever meet any of you and now I have the honor and the privilege to be in the presence of three of the Immortals at once.”

Stahl said. “Lt. Commanders, we are just a little older than others and I am a stern objector to this personal cult thing. Even though I understand it, so please let us get started.” He motioned to me to give an update and I did.

After I was finished the Oghrs handed in reports and uploaded their logs and data. While Cherubim actually started to scan through the reports on her PDD.

Stahl’s avatar looked at something that was not in this room and the Old Warrior said. “Keep going, I am listening but I’ve got something to do” and with that Stahl’s avatar disappeared.

Cherubim but her hand next to her mouth as if to whisper and said. “We all just came from a state banquet at Urgotoor, a new member species famous for their fermented foods and our Eternal Warrior overdid it, as tough as he is, he still does not have an iron stomach.”

McElligott giggled almost like a teenager and said. “You see we so called Immortals are still quite human.”

Har-Hi put his hand before his mouth to hide his grin. In all this seriousness I too had to agree this humanized these Immortals in my eyes as well and maybe if really had to be one of them, I too could remain human. This little episode was quite assuring to me.

The Admiral of the Fleet became serious again and said. “Now to the business at hand. Even though Karthania is a small fish compared to the Nul, the Galactic Council or the Shiss they are an old culture with decent technology. While there are no common borders between Union and Karthanian space, there is some trade and the Karthanian Conglomerate is one of the bigger players in the region you are in.”

Cherubim put the PDD away she was holding and said. “We do have very few reliable intelligence-assets inside the Karthanian Conglomerate and so we are forced to maintain this and similar Intel outposts on what the Karthanians call Outlet-and Service Worlds. As you know they do not allow any foreign ship inside their space and are xenophobic. Itheamh is only one of several such worlds we know of, that the Karthanians use as outlets and gateways for their wares and to buy scrap, ore and other raw materials and of course buying sentient beings.”

She got up and a projection of the world Itheamh appeared over the table surface. “We are well aware of the situation, but frankly we have no mandate to interfere, especially not openly.But technically it is not against Union laws, as the Itheamh are a spacefaring civilization and Prim culture interference laws do not apply. Still open interference in Non Union societies that are not at war with us is something we usually don’t do. However the possible presence of Union citizens enslaved on Smelter Moons gives you all the authority, by Assembly decision no less.”

Stahl’s Avatar established itself again and he interrupted right away and said. “That does not mean we want you run off and try to liberate all nineteen worlds, even though conditions there are quite similar to those on Itheamh.”

I said. “Sir and I did not come here to Itheamh to do that either but it sort of happened.”

McElligott looked to the ceiling and then said with a hint of a smile. “That is what should be written on your ships dedication plate: ‘USS Tigershark – We didn’t go out to change Galactic history, it just sort of happened’.”

I frowned at the Old Admiral, as his joke made the other two giggle. So I tried to ignore it and said. “I am going to the Smelter Moons myself tomorrow and hope to put an end to slavery.”

Stahl said. “Yes you told us you would. Anyone else saying that, I’d call insane, but since it came from you and the Olafson crew we take it very seriously and we are scrambling to get the assets in place, just in case things turn sour. Plans are a nice thing but there is much that can go wrong. There isn’t a thing more uncertain and complicated then trying to engage in nation building and believing that our values and ethical ideas are automatically theirs as well. So you decided to help and you already put a lot of rocks in motion. It is too late to stop for many reasons, but be aware that the Karthanians are not Sin 4. This is a Star empire stretching over ninety star systems and they are a star traveling civilization for a very long time, it will take more than a few revolting slaves and an angry Neo Viking in tight leather britches to change conditions there. You are too young to know this, but we have been in contact with the Karthanians while they still were under the control of that First Engineer. They were as Xenophobic back then as they are now and they have never been our real friends, even while the so called First Engineer was in charge, don’t forget that.”

I responded saying. “I have no plans to go to Karthania itself. I know too little about that world and have no idea who or what that First Engineer is.”

The last traces of amusement had left Stahl’s face. “Once you get things like that started it is very hard to find a good place to stop and once events are in motion, be prepared to see them through to the end. You decided to help and that is commendable, but that means you are in charge and responsible for the entire show. They have not been our enemy so far, but if they find out you are Union Officers this could change in a heartbeat.”

I had hoped for support and not this stern lecture, but I knew he was speaking the facts and I knew he expected me to be able to handle it.

Cherubim expanded the projection over the table with a gesture until it showed a strategic map of the Coreward sector of the Galaxy and said. “The Galacto-political situation in this region is not very stable. We know the Karthanians think about expansion after all, and so do the Togar. They hate each other about as much as the Nul hate the Shiss. The slightest spark could mean war.”

I nodded. “Someone told me that while I was on Kaliment.”

She glanced at me from under her white blonde bangs and her face, a bio flex mask and not her real face I was certain, did not show any emotion and she slowly nodded. “Ah yes of course, Kaliment could be the world where it starts, but the situation also involves the Nine Oghr Kingdoms, the Jooltar and the remaining Dai Than.”

McElligott waved his hand and several colorful spherical regions were added to the projection. “There are also smaller and very small civilizations strewn out there and they would suffer greatly from an Interstellar war in that region. Not to mention that beyond the Togr realm begins space we know very little about. Who knows what civilizations and empires are yet to be discovered, Coreward and Downward is very little surveyed by us and enemies like the Piostla have appeared from there. They sure gave us all a hell of a fight.”

The Old Admiral added saying what Mother Superior had said to me a while ago. “Wars have a tendency to spread, the Shiss or the Kermac and the Galactic Council might decide to take sides and that would more or less mean we would have to get involved as well.”

I had to admit to myself I had not thought of that. McElligott was not done and said now with a slight smile on his lips. “We did put your dilemma before the Armed Forces Committee of the Assembly. They actually agree with you and want you to rescue any Union citizen. This is not Freespace and there are no treaties hampering Fleet involvement.” He kept smiling. “As my esteemed colleague mentioned in the previous conversation, you are not alone, we do have your back and we hope we will be able to give you more concrete assistance. Also we think we can buy you a little more time in regards to the Red Dragon. You do remember Klotzky & Harris Freight and Exports?”

My voice sounded deeper than usual as I recalled the ship full of human body parts and I said.” How can I forget that ship of horrors?”

McElligott nodded and the projection changed. Showing uniformed police raiding a corporate office and arresting people.

“Federal Police had, thanks to you, enough evidence to get a search warrant and they found underground slave prisons and terrible conditions. There is also evidence that this went on for years. The press somehow got wind of it and it was blown all over prime time news. To make a long story short, the General Assembly took this news and they discussed it on Pluribus for almost three days.

Finally they stopped short of declaring war against Togr. A resolution was made and the Assembly decided that the Fleet should do something about this.”

Stahl’s eyes smiled again as he said. “So we decided to make a little trip through the Coreward sector. The Assembly tasked the fleet to send an Armada and perhaps engage in a few war games and “survey” missions. We are going to do that right there between the Karthanian and the Togar Empires.Maybe even establish a forward fleet base somewhere in am unclaimed system, after all that space is unclaimed and we are not bound by any treaties. Beyond that is the space of the Xandrao, who just received their welcome wagon. So a space bus route and GalNet is to be established. The Assembly wants us to show a little strength and remind all the locals in that neighborhood, just whose tail they are pulling by eating Union citizens and forcing sentient beings to work as slaves on Smelter Moons.”

He drew a glowing path with his finger over the reappearing sector map, to show us the path this armada would take and he made a small circle around Itheamh System.

“As part of those war games, a few ships will visit you there. Itheamh is after all officially an independent world and does trade with the Union and there are several Trade Company offices at the local space port.”

Har-Hi handed me a kerchief and I was certain he had read my mind because he did so just in time. I had to sneeze. Whatever caused the itch in my nose for so long had finally reached the point where I could no longer suppress it. I sneezed and thankfully made use of his kerchief.

While I was fighting my nose, Har-Hi said to the Immortals. “As I understand from the local rebels, there was once a Union ship here before but they left since the rebels did not speak for the entire planet. What difference would a new visit make?” Stahl’s smile now reached his lips. “I am not talking one or two ships, Mr. Hi. We are talking about the entire COWACOM or in other words the ninety Union Fleets that are assigned to that region command. In addition to that they will be accompanied by the First Fleet and of course the Devi. Finally to round things up, the Gray Nul and current ruler of the Nul found this a splendid opportunity to show the Galaxy that Nul and Union are the closest allies now and he is sending the 4th and the 5th Nul Armada for joint maneuvers.”

He could not suppress the glee he felt. It was one of those things that made the heart of the Eternal Warrior swell. “I am certain the Togar will think it is their time to pay for all their culinary choices, and mobilize everything they have. The Karthanian are forced to do the same as they have no clue what is going on and none of the Oghr Kingdoms will send mercenaries anywhere and keep their forces close if they think we are up to no good. Whatever we encounter in space and isn’t kosher will be dealt with.

Of course the Kermac will think we going to try to go at them from the rear. So in short this nice quiet area of space will be quite busy. And with a little over 100,000 Union and Nul ships in the region, I think your pirate friends will stay put on that second planet of theirs and pray to whatever gods they worship that we don’t take a closer look at that world.”

I could not fight the contagious grin and smiled as well. “And the Karthanians will be careful from openly committing any atrocities on Itheamh.”

McElligott said. “However, to take such a big show on the road takes time. The logistics alone are quite demanding so it will take us seven to eight days before the first forward units are anywhere near Itheamh. Don’t forget we also have to go around Freespace. So until then you are on your own.”

I still smiled. “What’s new, Sir?”

Chapter 31 »