Book 9 - Chapter 10 - Togr-edited

Chapter 10 Togr

The former slaves were received like kings. The Golden and their employees went out of their way to accommodate them. Tables and benches were carried out on the big central yard of the Golden enclave. The Golden handed out food, clothing and what surprised the former slaves more than anything, weapons.

I jumped on a table and said. "You are free beings now. You can walk out that gate and try to find a new home. I will ask the Golden to give all those who leave 100 polos, so you are not without means. Or you can do what I suggested and stay here and apply for Union Asylum. You can do that right here, there are GalNet terminals. Once you accept our laws and complete Union School you are citizens. Whatever the Shiss, whatever you might have done will never be made an issue. The Union accepts anyone, be it Nul, Togar, Shiss, Jooltar or Fruidans. All you have to do is stay lawful."

A Frudian insectoid hummed in Squack. "Will there a place form Fruidans? We are Galactic Council members."

"There are over 600 insectoid species, there are former GC members and there are countless individuals of thousand different species who made that choice for themselves. I know of Togar, Oghr, Joolar, Bitlor and I think there are even a few Kermac who are Union citizens. The Frudian society must ask this question as a species, but for you, the answer is yes."

A Jooltar said. "You are Togar, but you speak like Union."

One of the Yellow Throats yelled. "She is Union and I bet she's fleet. I follow her, she saved our lives."

I jumped off the table and said. "I can't go with you because I have unfinished business, but what stops you from pursuing a career in our fleet? If you stick with it, one-day Nul, Togar, Humans and many others will follow you."

I pointed to the open gate. "Our most sacred belief is in freedom of choice and the right for liberty. You are free, decide for yourself."

I walked to the gate myself, but stopped by the big Yellow Throat, "how did you manage to escape the cage?"

"I wedged a broken claw in the snap lock when they put us in, the lock never engaged."

"That's pretty smart. Can I ask how you ended up in slavery?"

"Our Gray Throat master sold us so he could buy a ship and flee before the Union troops came to our world."

--""--

Lumis, the Lord of Light lingered on at Avondur. This planet was called the center of the Universe for a good reason. Many thousand rifts and passageways to other realities, realms and universes could be found on this world and the Avondur star system.

According to cosmic legend, it was here the singularity expanded in a cosmoclyptic event into what entities called the Core or Prime Universe.

A meta spatial condition with all concepts well developed. A condition the 'Prophecy of Before and Yet to come' predicted to be the dusk of all the old entities, and the dawn of new entities. It was the metaverse that would see the rise of the Dark One and the restoration of the Rule, with a new base at its core.

There were rifts and metaverse bridges to the anti-verse, to the upper and nether realms. This was the reason for the Orlan to construct their Transspatial gate network, it was centering on this place.

Seven powerful circles, the seven Orders of Avondur lorded and protected and guarded both  Avondur and these rifts. Not just limiting access, but also what was seeking entry from the other sides.

In the vast dust and sand planes just outside the gates of the city of Avondur were the chaos rifts, the passageways no one controlled.

In the Shine mountains to the east of Sandakar city was a cave with a nexus gate. Connecting Avondur with all the other Nexus points, the Nexus network was even older than the gates the Orlan constructed. Lumis suspected it to be created by the last Technos of the Old Empire.

Lumis was sitting under the dusty canvas roof that extended from an old stone building that was the center of what locals called the Estresa Compound.

Estresa was the name of an old family of Sandakarians. While the Estresa were not associated with any of the Seven Orders, they supposedly had good connections to all of them. The city and this compound, in particular, was something like neutral ground.

The Estresa also operated this place of rest and hospitality.

The hard packed ground was covered with thick layers of coarse carpet. There were big leather cushions, stuffed with something soft and low metal wire tables.

At the center of each table, an earthen pot with a Fukik luminescence shroom, glowing in a yellowish light. Not to provide illumination but to spread a pleasant scent and to attract local buzz stingers and other flying pests that managed to get past the almost invisible energy curtains. Ever now and then one of the fungi animal hybrid's sticky tentacles snatched something out of the air that came too close to the light.

There were about twenty of these tables with several cushions placed around them.

In local terms it was forenoon and only a handful of beings had gathered under this canvas roof.

None of them paid any attention to him. Normally there would be a sizeable entourage, but right now he was alone. His trusted man Miracel rotting in the desolate realm of the Highfather. Suffering greatly, he was certain, but he embarrassed the Lord of Light and had become way too critical anyway.

Lumis stared past the tent flaps onto the dusty streets of Sandakar. Beings from far distant galaxies, locals, visitors and refugees of a thousand realms mingled between the buildings, stalls, and tents. Some pursuing their day to day business. Others, just like him with an agenda of higher purpose.

He was certainly not all the beings were mere mortals.

The City of Sandakar just like the planet was an odd mix of the preindustrial and high tech.

He leaned back, sipped from the big mug of cold water and in his mind he heard the words of Crea, the mighty entity and goddess he was serving for so long.

"You are on Avondur. The answer can be found there. Hold the weapon and neither time nor space can hide the Dark One from you."

The answer to defeating the Dark One was here. But like so many times she was more than cryptic with her answer. The answer might as well be known to the Fukik on the table, but without knowing what to ask or look for, it eluded him.

Then his eyes focused on a truly magnificent feline being. Tall, towering over many. The almost human-shaped body covered in a lustrous golden fur, while the impressive face was surrounded by an impressive mane of long coarse looking fur. The cat wore only a girded loincloth.

Lumis recognized the old god Malmoru. A champion of the light, but not associated with Crea.

He got up and rushed out. "Halt, Malmoru! It is I, Lord Lumis who demands your attention."

The magnificent Malmoru looked down at the Lord of Light. "Ah yes, Lumis. As self-important and pompous as the day your Crea has lifted you from your mortal existence."

"I was made the defender of light, you are an aspect of light. Must you not obey Crea and therefore me?"

The entity before him bellowed loud with laughter. "Is she still insisting on that? She tainted light and it has broken the RULE. The One behind it all is not to be betrayed, yet your existence is the embodiment of her betrayal."

"I am not to be lectured and I have a good mind to teach you a lesson how foolish it is to proclaim judgment over the perfect Goddess."

Malmoru pointed at Lumis sword. "Draw it then and put substance to your hollow words. The one that will provide the Judgement, to Crea will find his way to this Universe soon."

Now it was Lumis who sounded amused. "What little knowledge has filtered to whatever realm you were hiding, the Dark One has returned and united seven tokens already. This is why I stepped into your way, Crea speaks of a Weapon that can defeat the Dark One, the weapon that done so before. The answer to where I can find this weapon is to be found here."

The tall entity suddenly sounded very concerned. "The Dark One has arrived?"

"Indeed."

"I must make haste then!"

Malmoru paid no attention to Lord Lumis anymore, turned and after a few steps dissolved into a glittering shower of sparks.

Lumis at first dumbfounded and then angry was still standing there, as a voice addressing him made him turn.

The man in the golden gleaming armor and green cloak that addressed him, had a human face underneath his horn adorned helmet. "I overheard your conversation Lord Lumis, why don't you try the realm of the Old Ones? One of them might know what you are looking for."

--""--

The Togar transport we had chartered from the Merchant house of Lorr held several tons of bacon and tuna in its hold. Two days ago we had left N'Ger and reach our destination, Togr planet in another twenty-seven standard hours.

Cherubim who of course like me still wore her costume and listened to Contessa sat in the same small passenger lounge of this Togar ship and used a little fancy looking silvery file to sharpen the claws of her costume. The way she was sitting and the way she moved made me think she had been in this guise for many times.

I was standing by the oval viewport and stared into deep space. Other than a few distant stars and the occasional quasi streak there was nothing really to see. I just felt this increasing urgency to get to Togr and find Jolaj.

Rog had curled up on a Togar seat and apparently slept. When he was walking and sitting on Union furniture he always appeared to me like a very muscular man wearing a tight fur costume with an impressive lions mask, but now as he was curled up on Togar furniture he truly appeared different and alien.

I remembered Shea showing me visuals of a Terran feline species she called a lion, ever since I could not stop seeing the close resemblance.

The day he came aboard the Tigershark, I was inclined to kill him and every Togar. But he had managed to change my mind forever. He was honorable, a very capable, well educated and trained officer even before he became a Union officer. We all called him Commander and it was not just a nickname but a clear recognition of his former rank.

Of course, there was Jolaj, she was Togar too, but for some reason, she had ceased to be a Togar in my mind the day I held her in my arms and felt her sorrow and pain. She was our Snowball, and I know the entire crew, I included loved her very much.

I was pulled out of my musings by Cherubims now guttural Togress voice. "I really begin to see what the Eternal Warrior and the Highlander see in you."

I turned from the viewport. "Aren't you part of that trinity of Immortals? I recall you being there since we went to Richter 4. You briefed us and you received our reports, just as to them."

She stopped filing her nails and inspected one of the needle-sharp hooks with a critical eye. "Yes, I suppose to you it must look that way, and I do know those two guys for a very long time. But I am not exactly on the Christmas card list of Richard."

She resumed filing but on a new claw. "I first heard of you at Richter Base and like the other two was deeply impressed by the reports and the truly unprecedented successes you and the Tigershark crew achieved, but I don't really know more than your names and the content of your files."

She pointed the silvery file at me. "They say I am an enigma, and I carefully groom this reputation for almost eight thousand years ago. But you are the true enigma and you don't even try."

"Eight thousand years?"

"7,793 years to be exact, Erica. Not all the immortals were made immortal the same time. I was born in a city known then as Uruk a city of the Sumer."

She paused. "You collected so many secrets, there is no living soul knowing my true story of origin. It is a story I haven't shared with anyone. Neither O'Brock nor Richard knows, but I think Phil has figured out quite a bit of it."

I shrugged. "Whatever you just said might be a secret, but I frankly have no idea what you're talking about. I have no idea where Sumer, planet is. And who is Phil?"

She laughed. "Sumer was the name of a civilization that once existed on Earth. You do know Earth right?"

"Yes, I visited Norway. We Norse come from Earth and its where the real Vikings lived."

"I would argue that the Neo Vikings of Nilfeheim are just as real. I was born long before there were any Vikings, the region became Irak and is now as quiet as it was before there were humans in the Middle East." She sighed under her very realistic mask. "Phil Decker is another one of us immortals. He is a policeman and detective. Always was and still is."

I wasn't too interested in her small talk. I didn't want to appear rude and feigned interest. Okay, she was older than Stahl, but Sodoby was 12,000 years old. Deepa, Tyron, and Cateria looked a million years or so. Dusty's age was counted in eons and while I was sure Narth was relatively young, the Narth Supreme was billions of years old and if I understood my spooky twin brother correctly the Dark One existed since the dawn of the first universe. So her revelation didn't exactly impress me much.

She had resumed her filing. "Anyway getting back to what I wanted to say initially is, that I begin to see what they see, that episode on N'Ger was an eye-opener. You dealing with that Oghr was certainly something."

"I just hate slavers, period."

Again she chuckled. "Yes, you sure demonstrated that. And frankly, I am envious of your resources. Who can call the Merchant of Merchants just like that?"

"I am sure the director of TSI and the Assembly News Agency isn't exactly short of resources."

Whatever she might wanted to respond was drowned by a strange rumbling growling noise.

Roghor jumped up. "They are sounding the high alarm."

He wasn't finished speaking when I sensed a change in the fine vibrations. We had dropped out of Freespace.

--""--

Har-Hi stood next to two Golden, one, of course, was Sodoby and the other Lokta. All three of them looked over the shattered walls, the piles of rubble that once have been the Merchant house compound of Omnar. The Dai nodded with conviction. "Yes, that sure looks like she was here."

Hans held up the headless body of an Oghr. "I think I found the former proprietor, judging by the gems and gold."

Lokta spread his arms. "By the misfortunes of cursed bankruptcy, I never have seen anything like it. She goes back to pay Omnar. The Oghr not only raised the price on her, demanded to get paid for the ones that the black Togar cat had killed, but threatens her..." The Golden turned to face the destruction. "... well from what I understand, things escalated quickly."

Five Shiss, two Jooltar and a Fruidan approached them. One of the Shiss, to Har-Hi's surprise, was not green with a colored throat fold, but shining black from head to clawed toes.

A Yellow Throat, leading the small group said. "We think you are the shipmates of the Black Togress."

The Black Shiss added. "She's your commanding officer, is she not?"

Har-Hi asked. "What makes you think we are associates to a Black Togress, just out of curiosity?"

The Yellow Throat pointed at the local Golden. "He is the richest and most elusive of all Merchant lords. He went out of his way to help her and us."

The Black Shiss pointed at the landed Tigershark behind them. "Then this ship lands, it looks like nothing any of us have ever seen, but it fits her character somehow."

The Fruidan buzzed. "She wore civilian things, but she spoke in a way only a Union Captain speaks. Utterly confident and with unquestionable authority in her voice."

Har-Hi threw his hands in the air. "After all this time we should be experts at all this clandestine stuff. Turns out we are still amateurs, a bunch of former Shiss slaves figured us out in no time."

Again the Yellow Throat said. "She made no difference between Yellow Throat, All Black, Jooltar or Fruidan. She fought for us, treated slaves with the greatest respect."

"We follow her." The Black Throat said.

The Yellow Throat agreed with the Fruidan. "We have been told many things about the Union and most of it was propaganda I know, I was in the propaganda and intel field. I know about the diversity of the Union, but now I see the proof. There are Attikan, Y'All, Nul and Togar in her crew. Serving along with Golden, Dai, Humans, and Holdians. We want to be part of that crew."

Lokta said. "Most of these former slaves did exactly as she recommended. Used GalNet and applied for Immigration. I sent them to the next Outpost with my Golden Sphere, but these insisted to wait."

Har-Hi sighed. "Guys, I am sure she is going to be thrilled to have you express such sentiment, but that is not her decision. This is a Union ship and you need to become Citizens and then join the fleet. Go through basic training or the Academy."

One of the Jooltar spoke for the first time. "No one likes Jooltar, especially Togar. She gave us weapons and even Polos. I waited for you, I too was certain she was a Union captain and that there was a ship. "He exposed his fangs and gestured towards the Tigershark. "She left before you arrived, I could not warn her. You are Union and might be able to speak to her."

Har-Hi instantly alarmed and worried. "What was it you wanted to warn her about?"

"We heard she and her companions chartered a Togar ship from the Lorr. The Lorr have abandoned their independence just recently and are now associated with the Kasij faction."

Har-Hi urged the Jooltar. "Who are the Kasij?"

"A powerful group of Togar dissidents. The load of luxury food items she wanted to take to Togr is no longer a secret."

Sodoby, always informed on trade said. "These things were always welcome, but Enroe stopped all trade. You may not be able to buy Togar with Polos, but they sell out for bacon and tuna. If they know our captain comes in with a load of that..."

The Jooltar said. "I was an agent for the merchant house of Asrix, until I was betrayed but I know the Lorr. Your captain is in great danger."

--""--

I wondered what made us drop out of Quasi, we were still a good distance from Togr. Detecting a ship in Quasi and interrupting its translight travel was, at least as far as I knew far beyond the technological capabilities of the Togar or for that matter any Tech Level Seven society.

As a Captain, I received not only the Day Cypher but a daily report on general intelligence, the state of the Union and so forth. Sitting at Christmas base, I actually read a few and knew the Kermac had developed sensors that could track Quasi space contacts, but had nothing that could pull a ship out of Quasi.

Union Tech was able to do that, but it was still not easy because of the precise timing required to affect something that traveled many times the speed of light.

Had war been declared and the Union was at war with the Togar?

Rog had rushed to the door. "It is locked, but that is to be expected during the high alert."

A gruff, throaty voice came over intership. "All hands to their duty stations."

Cherubim checked her PDD. "We are out of GalCom and GalNet range, but I was able to receive the NavPing. We are deep in Togar space."

I was certain my masked face did not translate any of my facial expressions. Not that Togar and human expressions were the same anyway. With a slightly annoyed tone in my voice I said. "General, I am no longer that naive midshipman. No need to pretend. I know about Nebuchadnezzar Base, we are well within range, they monitor Togar communications and traffic."

"Good lord." She exclaimed. "You know? It's an Omega level..."

"Commander Shadrach was briefed by you about me and the Tigershark. Are we at war with the Togar?"

She shook her head. "No. After we are done with this, I would love to hear what made the Old Highlander reveal..."

Again she could not finish her sentence, the door folded into the frame and revealed two armed battle suit wearing Togar. "Ah, here you are, Contessa. We decided to take your bacon. Warkor my friend here wanted to simply kill you, but I want to know where you got that merchandise."

Rog still standing by the doorframe pointed his blaster right at the right temple of the speaker's head. "You may have a helmet and some sort of shield, but this is a Terran TKU dialed to 12, want to find out if your Togar crap can protect you?"

"A manservant with such a weapon?"

Warkor his companion apparently did not believe Roghor and fired at me.

Tyron's shield prevented me from any harm and said to me. "There isn't enough energy in the entire ship to affect my shields more than one percent, Captain. All offensive capabilities active. Casern bots available."

Roghor fired. Warkor's unnamed friend died after most of his head had been turned to atomic ashes.

My Togar friend said with his deep voice. "My bad, I exaggerated, the TKU was only on setting five, but it turned out to be enough at this point blank range." He swiped a finger over the power dial. "Now it is at eight. Captain, want me to burn this clown?"

"Not yet, Rog. I have a few questions."

Cherubim sighed loudly. "Warkor, you could not have picked worst victims."

Warkor, a strong looking male Togar was in complete surprise. Everything had happened so quick. He snapped his jaws shut and then said. "We are not alone, there are twenty of us."

I shook my head. "You are not very good at math, there are nineteen now and there will be eighteen soon."

He swallowed. "I am this ship's navigator. Without me..."

For the first time, I used Tyron's finger blaster. The thin beam was more like a laser than a TKU blast and sliced Warkor's head from left ear to the lower jaw on the right. Helmet, shield and all.

While the Togar collapsed I said. "So this is what the finger blaster does?"

"It is the standard base weapon beam, Captain. Transphasic vibrating all spectrum light."

--""--

Jolaj had arrived, along with her captors at the core planet of the Empire.

While they had kept her blindfolded at first, she had no doubt. Everything felt just right. The gravitation, the air, and the ambient temperatures.

She had been placed in a small room without windows. They kept her tied up but had provided her with a Comm Visualizer, set to the prime news broadcast. Every now and then they came in to check on her and give her water.

She was quite hungry and when she asked the brown pelted female that had not provided her with a name, for food. The Togress laughed and told her, that she won't starve to death until she was to be tossed into the sacred pool of light. The female added. "If you indeed survive you are a goddess, and they don't need food."

She tried to keep her spirit positive and watched the news feed. Hi Togr was in turmoil and all Togar at the brink of civil war. There was an assassination attempt on the Queen. Dozens of dissidents had been rounded up by the Queen's guards and in quick show, trials condemned to death. The executioners of the government drowned seven of them.

Millions of Togar from all over the government had arrived for the annual confirmation ceremony. More than ever before.

No matter how much official channels tried to downplay or outright deny it, but the rumors that the White Fur was alive had spread to the furthest corners of the Empire.

Jolaj could not help but shed tears again. She didn't care about that if it was up to her the Togar Queen and the High Priestess could rot in Trakarth or rule all Togr for the rest of eternity. She wanted to go home. Her home had long ceased to be Togr, she was home aboard a Union Starship and she missed her friends. Most of all, of course, she missed Shaka, the Tigershark's helmsman. She loved that human very much.

In her emotional misery, she imagined hearing the Captain's voice. “No worries Jolaj, I give you my word I will find a solution, I promise you."

She snapped out of her daydream because she heard jelling and the sharp crack of Togar blasters outside the locked door.

Just where the door lock was, the metal was quickly turning bright red and then melted.

Jolaj's wrists were cuffed to her back, but she tried to get away from the blistering heat as far as she could.

The door was kicked open and two masked Togar rushed in, both male. One of them fired his weapon at something outside the door, while the other came towards her. With all her strength she kicked the male cat between the legs, as she tried to get away from him.

Male Togar were as sensitive as human males in that regard, the male howled in pain behind his mask. The other fired twice more and yelled. "Princess, we are here to rescue you. Branji has sold out to the Queen's guards, they are rushing this hideout. We need to get you to a safe place."

--""--

I did not hold back, my anger and frustration had reached its limits. The shipmaster of this merchant ship had spilled everything. The rendezvous with the other ship had been arranged by him. The Lorr wanted to get hands on our merchandise and never intended to keep their end of the bargain, Cherubim had arranged with them and wanted to space us before we reached Togr. The Lorr shipmaster double-crossed his own house and struck a deal with another faction, instead of taking the load of food back to the Lorr, he struck a deal with a friend of his.

Cherubim had followed me onto the bridge of the Togar merchant and scolded me. "I took you along on this clandestine mission, but not for you to take over and do things your way."

She pointed at the burning wreck of the other ship, centered on the view screen. "I am not an amateur, Erica. I was expecting all this, this is the very reason I made no secret what our merchandise contained. I took the side tour via Omnar to have an explanation where it came from.

I was certain, dissident and rebel groups would try to get their hands on it and thus give us an inroad into them. Now that you killed pretty much all of them, and destroyed any veneer of you not being Union at N'Ger our mission is in jeopardy. It is vital for us to get first-hand intel on the Togar situation."

"With all due respect, General. The only one in jeopardy is Jolaj. We are losing time with all this subterfuge."

"Since you are not willing to do it my way, subtle and unseen. How do you want to accomplish that, finding a single Togress on the main planet of the Togar? As you so eloquently figured out, I am in contact with Nebuchadnezzar and we know that not even the queen managed to find her, and she has all the resources?"

I sat down on the command seat of the freighter. Roghor rushed passed me and took the helm position, while Tyron had linked up with the primitive computronic, feeding me with data and giving Rog coordinated. "Captain, the Casern Bots are back, the other vessel rendered to scrap. Coordinates to Togr layed in."

"Engage engines, Commander. Get us there!"

To the enraged Immortal, I said. "Because she is not just any Togress, General. To the Togar she is the White Fur of Innocence and the whole Loki cursed planet is after her. To the fleet she is Luitenant Grotha a valued member of my crew, to me, she is our Snowball and my friend. I gave her my word to protect her."

Roghor said. "General Cherubim, I do not know who you are or what you represent, but there is no vessel like the Tigershark in the Universe. We are more than crew, there isn't a soul who would not follow our Captain, or lay down our life for anyone aboard."

He pushed his paw over the accelerator after setting our threshold pathway in a fast and efficient way. The engines pushed the old Togar freighter to its maximum acceleration. Then without taking off his eyes of his controls, something none of my bridge officers would ever do, he continued. "I just survived severe torture by the paws of a Togress planet governor who was so certain about her power. She felt untouchable and mocked me that the Battleship had left, forgotten about me. Yet she could not break me, because I knew beyond any doubt my Captain would come. If I had died before her arrival, I would have died with the satisfaction that my tormentor would pay."

Tyron spoke before I or Cherubim could respond. "General, outsiders just don't understand. You expressed envy that our Captain has a Seenian battle suit. Do you know she has many thousand Seenian battle suits? The last servant of the Seenians made her the sole inheritor. I am not a suit to her but a valued friend. She has never ever asked me or commanded me to be worn, it was me who asked her for this honor and privilege."

I felt embarrassed by the praise of my friends and Cherubim said. "As I said, Admiral McElligott tried to warn me. Since this has turned out to be your show, what is the plan?"

"We find that light pool thing, that is where they are taking our Snowball."

"And how will you gain access and take that Jolaj away from an entire planet that wants her?"

Roghor laughed. "She doesn't know you Captain for sure." He kept laughing and Tyron chuckled too, and said. "We do it the Olafson way of course. Proceed instinctively according to results and circumstances rather than according to rules or a plan. Right, Captain?"

--""--

Hans folded his helmet away and said to Har-Hi sitting in the command chair.

"There isn't so much as a bacteria alive on that Togar destroyer. It's just a glowing, burned out hulk."

Ak Pure also retracted his helmet. There are a few dead Togar floating around though, but they were dead before they had been spaced."

Narth looking up from his console. "This definite engine trail residue consistent with the Togar transport Erica had left N'Ger with."

Mao chuckled. "What did the Jooltar say?"

Xon repeated. "Your captain is in great danger."

TheOther. "Yeah right. Maybe the Union can't declare war on Togar, but it looks to me our Captain has."

Har-Hi gave Shea a glance. "What are the odds now?"

"Sixty-seven percent of the crew thinks, there won't be a Togar empire left. Thirty-Two percent think there will be a Togar membership application."

"That only comes to ninety-nine if my math is correct."

The gorgeous blonde nodded. "Because you haven't placed a bet yet."

Sodoby stepped right next to Har-Hi, with a PDD in his left hand. "The odds favor destruction because they messed with our Jolaj. Twenty credits and your opinion, Sir?"

Har-Hi swiped his credit strip. "She left Christmas Base, mad as a Vertian Snark and seeing her handy work floating behind us, I go for option one." Then he straightened in his seat. "Mr.Narth and Ms.Schwartz, is our Janus device operative and properly configured?"

"Yes, Sir. We have a Togar merchant vessel on file." Shea answered.

"Then let us become Togar."

--""--

"Who are you?" Asked an unfriendly voice on a Myon radio channel.

"Spexializt Meeze. Whyze azkes youz? Everyonz comz and goz to Quarva."

The Pepino appearing on the main screen said. "Because we never seen a stink crawler piloting a ship. What is it anyway, never seen anything like that."

"I eaz Pepinoz and Meeze notz Stinkiz crawlz." The hissing voice of Meeze suddenly had a quality of pride. "Meeze iz Unionz. Wanz have a Unionz presenz?"

"I want that fancy thing you fly!"

The channel still open, Meeze said. "Computronix, weaponz activz!"

The Scorpion's system had no objection. The Luitenant of the Small Craft Pool of the 124th had opened all permission codes for this Specialist. After all Fleet Command confirmed that Specialist Wheeze was confirmed by Admiral McElligott. The worm being had no other history at all, a clear indication for NAVINT. Meeze's personnel file did not even say what kind of specialist the Wheeze was. Nelson II just confirmed that the Admiral of the Fleet personally confirmed Wheeze's Fleet member status and that he was assigned to the highly classified project FISH.

The Mini load translocator rotary cannon delivered an answer, the Pepino didn't expect. His ship rendered into glowing scrap drifted slowly away from the big entrance hole of the occupied dark moon.

Even his friends aboard the Tigershark would have been quite surprised about the level of skill and expertise the seemingly primitive carrion eating annelid, displayed piloting a Union Scorpion.

Wheeze landed the sophisticated Union war machine on one of the many platforms and said to the computronic. "Activaz ze Cereberuz and shielz. I neez to go somewherz and no onz elz alowz in ze shipz."

"Acknowledged."

After he was out the ship it took only moments and he slipped into one of the many service pipes. He was muttering to himself as he advanced fast. "Stoopiz Togarz. Stoopiz Stahlz. Noz alloz to declarz warz, I showz them. Meeze haz frienz and we willz declarz warz on Togarz. No onez gez awayz wiz hurzing sweezy Jolaiz. No onez!"

--""--

The Togar main system was a madhouse and I was almost certain I could have arrived in the Domi and no one would have noticed. The system was as busy as Thana Shoo was when all the clans showed up. Well, I had to admit I was exaggerating. Of course, they would have noticed the USS Dominator and there weren't nearly as many ships as there were at Thana Shoo. Still, there was hectic traffic and whatever space traffic control there might have been was completely overwhelmed.

None of the other ships, civilian or military paid any attention to us. Roghor was invaluable, he steered the ship confident and it was apparent he had been here many times before.

I asked. "Is it always that busy and chaotic?"

"No Captain, tomorrow is the Day of the Queens Confirmation."

He then said. "I never dreamed to see High Togr again. This is where it all started for us Togar so long ago. There are so many things and sights to see. Now I realize this world, holds nothing I desire. It is a poor expression of a primitive race."

Cherubim said."You should be proud of it, I have been here before. It is the center of an old and powerful civilization, with as many wonders as Earth."

"It is not the sights and the history I am talking about, General Cherubim. My children are happy and free on Union side. My son is as respected as my daughter. I am an outcast and traitor to them, I am Rog to my friends of the Tigershark."

I said. "I have been home to Nilfeheim, I still feel like a Neo Viking, but I knew I will never be anything more than a visitor. The planet of my birth is home no more."

Tyron said. "My place of birth was a factory on a planet that doesn't exist anymore. My home was a shipping crate."

I looked to Cherubim. "Still okay with me running the show?"

"Yes, you took over at Omnar's compound. My careful hatched plan went out the window there."

"Commander, where would we find that Pool of light and can we land somewhere?"

"The Pool of Malmoru is at Grotha. We can not land there, no one is allowed to do so. However, we are a civilian ship and we can land on any of the six merchant ports."

--""--

The old priestess was all alone in the Hall of Malmoru, deep in the Temple mound. She was polishing the dark red Ornu wood and gold handrail that separated the worship section from the raised circle where the statue of Malmoru gazed past the curling smoke of the sweet-smelling incense pods.

Today at the eve before the Light Ray spirit's feast day. This worship chamber was desolate and empty, the majority of priestesses had left for the main temple.

The queen would arrive and the high priestess gaze into the swirling smokes that curled from the sacred pool of light. Confirm the Spirits approval of her reign for another year.

Hamaj was old and not keen on standing for many hours before and during the long-winded ceremony.

It was very quiet, there was no sound other than the occasional metallic chime that echoed from the distant entrance and the whispering rustle of her polishing rag.

There was a creaking sound as if someone twisted taunt leather straps. At first, she paid no attention, she was old and sometimes she heard things that weren't caused by anything than her own worn body.

The creaking sound became louder and she did look up.

Malmoru's statue moved!