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Chapter 2: Sin 4 Page 2 Continuation...

I noticed her voice was different from Wetmouth’s when she said: “So you are Eric Olafson. Half the planet is looking for you. Someone put a huge bounty and a very good description of you in circulation. That is bad news on a planet without laws and full of bounty hunters, assassins, killers and pirates to name just the tip of the iceberg.”

I wanted to make sure and asked. “I am on Sin 4 right?”

“Yes you are and I just talked to the Mother Superior. She sent a message to Wetmouth to tell her you are alive.”

A rock as big as Nilfeheim rolled of my chest and I said. “Thank you, Moistpromise. Thank you for rescuing me.”

She laughed a friendly sounding laugh. “If anyone ever needed rescuing, it was you. Eric, but I am very glad I could help.Mother Superior ordered me to give you all the help you need.”

I asked. “Is there a GalNet Terminal somewhere, or some other means to get a message to fleet command?”

She nodded. “Yes, at the SII-Bank and business center in the Uppers District, but getting you there will not be easy. Those who are looking for you will have eyes and ears all around that place and perhaps even scanning equipment. We are 170 Light years away from the closest Union Planet. Only the Union developed this marvelous instantaneous communication net. The Katarians have faster than light communication but slower than a space ship and it would take weeks to get a message to a Union Planet that way. Of course the Kermac have a PSI-Sender on their Enclave Island but entrusting any information to a Kermac long range telepath would not be advisable and I am not sure if there is a connection of the Kermac Psi Sender net to the Union anyway. As soon as Wetmouth receives the message, I am sure she will inform your superiors as well.”

She got up, walked over, sat on the side of my bed and held her PDD over me. It made the characteristic sounds of a med scan in progress. She turned the display around and said.

“You are one of the lucky few who survived a Bone-hand crawler bite, the antidote and blood cleansing drugs are working and you will soon be as good as new.”

I looked at the display and it confirmed her diagnosis. I said, “Thank you for patching me up and taking care of that. Before I saw you, I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. You saved my life.”

I saw her smile behind her mask and she padded my shoulder. “Mother Superior commanded me to help you and besides it is a nice change of pace to help a young man instead of doing the other things.”

I asked. “Is it possible to leave this planet, perhaps booking passage on a ship? These Casinos need gamblers and they have to come from somewhere, right?”

She laughed again. “Eric this is Sin 4, we are in Free-space. There is no Space bus service. Yes I am sure you can get a ride on a ship, but you would have to hire one of the Privateers that run passenger services, and whoever is looking for you will have the two space ports under close surveillance as well. I heard there is a bounty of five million Telluri coins on your head; you could not trust anyone right now.”

I swallowed and almost whispered. “Can I trust you?”

She spread her arms. “You have to trust me, but no worries. We are bound by the rule of Mother Superior and the Goddess and no amount of money can make us sell out! Mother Superior wants to see you and that is where we go next.”

“Thanks again you for rescuing me.”

“It was a pleasure, besides I am a friend of Wetmouth and she has told me about you in many letters. I know you are close friends.”

“What happened to my uniform?”

“It’s somewhere on the bottom of the South Ocean. There was a tracker tacked to it and hopefully, if they manage to finally track it they will think you are dead.”

I felt my heart slump.” There was a piece of metal, in a leather holster I had. Is it on the bottom of the ocean as well?”

She shook her head. “No, I have sent your weapons to the temple, they are safe there and you can collect them there. All I kept here is that Union Bank Credit box of yours.”

I thanked her again and was glad that the Colt was not lost. That present I got from Stahl was not only quite dear to me; it had saved my life twice now.

The Sojonit turned off the PDD and got up. “We need to leave soon and get you to the Temple Island. Only there will you be really safe and Mother Superior will know what to do.”

I felt quite naked without any weapon, despite the fact that I was under those sheets, “Someone knows we are here?”

She shrugged. “I took as much care as I could, while bringing you here but this planet is also called the world of a million eyes and someone could have seen me carry you in. Besides this is only a love hotel and if they want to see who my customer is I can’t refuse. We Sojonites are under protection of the Four Families by old contracts, but whoever is searching for you, appears to have the blessing of the Four Families to find you. The temple island is off limits but we need to get there.”

I wanted to get up and said.

“Then we should go.”

She held me back and said. “Not like this. My flyer is open and everyone can see who is inside. You need a disguise.”

I nodded and said. “Alright.”

Her voice had a serious tone as she said. “It is forbidden by our highest laws that anyone who has not taken the oaths of our order shall impersonate a Sojonit. We command very high prices and respect for our services and there are those who want to cash in on our brand. We kill without mercy those who do, but our highest laws can be overruled by the will and command of she who is the Mother Superior and she told me to disguise you as a Sojonit so you can move and travel freely and go to the island. “She pointed at an Auto Dresser. “It looks like an old model but Mother Superior had sent it while you were still unconscious, it is a Saresii model and can do some temporary plastic surgery. Go use it.”

She laughed as I wrapped the bed sheet around me to walk over to the machine and said.

“Who do you think undressed you? Besides there are no physical secrets you hide underneath that sheet a Sojonit hasn’t seen thousands of times.”

I blushed and said with a meek sounding voice. “I can’t help it, I am from a very prudent and backwater society and being naked in front of a woman is one of those things.”

She stepped on the seam of the sheet and I had to get in the machine without it. It seemed like a small eternity ago when I last used an Auto Dresser this way on Wichita Planet.

It took longer than usual and the process was not entirely pleasant. I felt as if I was a piece of dough Midril pounded, rolled and shaped with her round and strong underarms.

When I stepped out I wore a corset style top, a short skirt and long boots, over it a sheer jacket and all in shades of pink. The body underneath all this was quite feminine and filled the skimpy outfit in the right places.

She nodded approvingly and then handed me a Sojonit mask and said with a solemn tone. “To a Sojonit it is a very special day when she receives her mask and wig. You are the first ever as far as I know who is allowed to wear these without being initiated by the order.”

I put the mask on. It felt warm and was soft and pliable. She helped me with the wig. I had not forgotten about my other persona, the side of me I called Freya came to the surface and the change in me was quite intense. This female persona that was part of me burst to life and brushed all maleness aside and I felt free once more.

Moist clapped her hands. “Either Wetmouth was a very good teacher or you have hidden talents of your own. I know few females and even fewer males that could walk like that in those heels.”

I said, and was surprised of my soft female voice, “These are hidden talents. Wetmouth had little chance of wearing anything but a Uniform since I knew her.”

She stepped back to inspect me with an approving nod. “Impractical they are and not exactly healthy. Fashion comes and goes but high heels have always been a hallmark of human female fashion the Galaxy over.”

I had no real response, but simply enjoyed the feel and was certain no one would recognize me now, not even my friends. “There is a voice changer in the mask?”

She nodded. “Yes these masks are way more than disguises. Now help me delete any trace of your presence.”

Under her instructions, we stripped the bed, threw the sheets down a garbage chute. She pressed a contact on the Auto dresser, it fell apart in dozens of pieces and they too went down the chute. We sprayed everything liberally with a strong smelling disinfectant. She explained.” This will destroy any DNA traces of us being here, just in case someone is checking.”

I wondered if she had done such clandestine things before, as it seemed she had quite the experience but I decided not to ask. I spotted the Credit box on the night stand and just out of curiosity checked the read out and almost fell over. The readout showed a secure account with 10 million Union Creds.

She came out of the bathroom and looked around. “As good as it gets. Let’s get out of here and pay for the room and for extra cleaning.”

We left the suite and went down a glass elevator into a plush decorated foyer. A truly white faced humanoid with sunken eyes wearing a tuxedo like outfit bowed slightly behind the counter and greeted us as we approached.

“We are always very grateful for Sojonit patronage. I hope everything was to the Sisters satisfaction?”

Moistpromise declined her head gracefully. “The Velvet Pasha meets the expectations of our customers, as always. We had a rather extensive session and I would like to order immediate room service and book the room for the rest of the week.”

He pressed a contact and nodded. “Room service has been dispatched right away.”

The read out on his terminal showed 1900 Creds and I swiped the box and left a hefty tip. I batted my eyes behind the mask and said. “That is for you. Your attention to excellent service is well received.”

He pushed his chest out and smiled proudly. “You are too kind! Thank you so much. This is very generous.”

Just then six beings came through the main entrance door. They wore armor plated uniforms, and were armed to the teeth. One of them came straight to the counter, touched a control on his left gauntlet and a projected a holo of my face appeared floating above it. He barked at the white skinned man behind the counter. “Have you seen this man?”

The Desk attendant looked the man down. “This is the Pasha. We are operated and owned by the Maroni family. We do not divulge such information even if we had it.”

On his signal a big Quadiped appeared from behind an alcove and planted his massive body behind the Desk clerk and rasped with his steel barrel voice. “It is very unhealthy to mess with the Maroni. I suggest you bounty hunters leave now.”

“We have permissions from the Cartel to search. So tell us, have you seen this man?”

The desk clerk shook his head. “No I have not.”

Moistpromise took me by the arm and guided me towards the exit, one of the Bounty hunters, more Cyborg than man, stepped in our way and he too produced the Holo. “Have you seen him? There is a nice reward on his head.”

“We serviced no such man.” She said. “Now let us pass.”

He grunted something unfriendly but one of his colleagues pulled at his shoulder. “Let the Sojos go. They are protected in ways you do not want to mess with. I could feel their eyes on my back as we left for the park deck.

Her pink Mercedes was already waiting and only after she piloted it in a steep curve above the peaks of the sky scrapers did I relax. “Whew, I thought he noticed something.”

She giggled. “Yes he did, your ass. He had lots of machine parts but he was still a man.”

The city was as dirty and gray during the day as it was at night. The air was full of smoke and sod and I looked around and sighed. “What a place.”

She looked at me from the side and said. “Sin 4 is not just Casinos and prostitution. It produces lots of illegal wares. Drugs and weapons being on top of the list and companies take advantage of the cheap labor Lows, Skaakh and Slaves provide. There are no regulations, no laws. All waste is simply dumped anywhere. The City as you see it below us spreads almost over the entire continent and there are estimates that there are between eight and twelve billion beings living here, and most of them living at the bottom of the social feeding chain. Not even counting the true owners of this world, the native Stiks.”

I asked, “Who are the Stiks?”

She answered. “A tribal pre industrial species that is native to Sin 4. They are treated even worse than the Skaakh. Most of them live on the Southern continent, but often they round them up for meat or for slave labor. It is very depressing.”

“I wonder why anyone wants to live here.”

“Because Sin 4 is within reach of the four big powers, not to mention the Shattered Kingdoms of the Oghr, the Karthanian, the Togar and hundreds of smaller Civilizations not associated with any of the Big Four.”

She must have noticed despite my mask that I wondered who the ‘Big Four’ were, because she added. “Out here in Freespace we call the Union, the Kermac, the Nul-Nul and the Shiss simply the Big Four. You know by treaty of the last cease fire agreement, this is Freespace. None of the four powers are allowed to send warships here and all four closely watch that the others don’t violate this treaty. So this world became a haven for the scum and criminal elements of the Galaxy and it is big business. Anything that is illegal in any of the four powers can be bought or sold here. It is a neutral meeting ground, hostages and blackmail money can be exchanged, as you learned yourself.”

I sighed. “Whenever I think I know a little about the universe, I find out I really know nothing.”

She steered the flier towards the open ocean and said. “I think you need to be one of those mystical Immortals the Union claims to have, to really know and understand it all.”

I agreed with her. “Yes I think you are right, maybe Stahl and McElligott have a chance to do that.”

Moistpromise said. “Not that anyone believes they are real, but you mention the name of the eternal Soldier around here in a spacers bar and you can see real fear in the eyes of hardboiled privateers and pirates that usually fear nothing. Some believe he is just well done propaganda, or some kind of Avatar projection, but there are quite a few who think he is a Demon or a God.”

“He is real and he assured me he is no god. Even though he comes pretty close to a deity aboard the Devi.”

Her eyes went wide behind the slits of her mask.” You actually met Admiral Stahl and have seen the Devastator?”

I could not help but feel a deep surge of pride and said. “I am a Midshipman aboard the Devastator and I have talked to the Immortal in person.And so has Wetty by the way.”

Just as she wanted to respond we were over the ocean. Two armed skimmers came close; one was open and filled with rough looking warriors. They looked us over, then they waved, yelled obscene suggestions and then turned around and left.

She said. “That is why we use open skimmers. So they can see we never have anything to hide. It is part of our agreement with the Cartels. In exchange we are untouchable and no one dares to attack a Sojonit.”

I noticed the gray unhealthy looking water of the ocean around the continents shore turned to a beautiful shade of azure green. There were small islands in the distance with expensive villas. She made a big circle around them and said. “Those are the family villas, belonging to the top bosses of the Cartel. They have every weapon money can buy, the best mercenaries that rarely ask questions and shoot first if you get too close without being expected.”

After a few minutes of flight we approached a larger green Island and I realized what a feat it must have been for a little girl rowing a little make-shift boat all the way out here and Wetmouth’s story took on a whole new dimension in my mind.

The Island was covered with well tendered green parks and in its center was an immense Statue of a reclined naked woman in a very provocative position. The Statue’s face looked exactly like the masks all Sojonites wore.

I estimated the Statue to be at last 200 meters tall.

She chirped with a happy tone in her voice. “Welcome to Sojo Island. This is our sanctuary and our temple.”

Small structures that looked like frilly Garden pagodas turned with us and I saw the muzzles of modern FTL projectors extending from white roofs following our flight path.

She noticed it too. “The island is perhaps the best defended place on this planet and this fact is well known. Here you are as safe as can be as no man is allowed in the inner sanctuary. You will be the first. Do not reveal your true nature to anyone even other sisters, till we met the Mother Superior.”

“I won’t.”

“Your mask and wig are registered and you can freely move around. Anyone trying to use a fake disguise would not make it that far.”

I said “I am glad I’m wearing the real thing then.”

She steered the pink flier towards one of the gigantic perky breasts of the statue and a hidden door opened at its base and admitted us.

We landed in a spherical hangar and there was a small fleet of these pink Mercedes Fliers parked.

I knew the price of a used Opel flyer and could only guess at the price of these, especially here so far from Union markets. “Well it seems business is good.”

She laughed. “It is often called the oldest business in the universe and no matter the times, we always have a steady stream of customers. Our reputation is old and well earned.

It was cool in here and the air smelled of a faint feminine perfume, the same scent I always noticed on Wetmouth and the same perfume Moist and I wore now. The corridors she was leading me through had no straight lines and had an organic round asymmetric design. The floors were covered with soft carpets muffling our steps, even though I did enjoy the staccato of our heels in the hangar we had just left.

There were Sojonites everywhere and only a few wore masks. Some wore simple white robes and others nothing at all. Moist explained to me as we walked. “Here in the temple we do not have to wear our masks. But some of us have worn them for so long that they became such an integral part of us that we feel naked without them.”

I could understand that and kept on looking around taking in the sights of this unusual place. Antiques and artwork from all over the Galaxy depicting humans and non-human species in all forms of sexual contact were displayed everywhere. I noticed a statue of a Quadiped in the middle of a quite obvious act and asked, “How is it you can offer your services let’s say to a Quadiped and yet I see no non-human species here?”

She responded. “These are secrets I cannot reveal to you, but a fully educated Sister can service any being. We know all about the most intimate practices of every known life form as well.”

We stepped into a small elevator that followed the arched body of the female statue into its head and from there she guided me into a very tastefully decorated room with antique looking furniture. A Sojonit awaited us. She was the first I saw that did not wear pink but a deep red gown. The hair of her wig was much longer but cut in the same style. It too was not pink but had a deep red shade, the Lips of her mask were closed. The masked woman inspected me with glittering eyes and then said. “Welcome Eric, I am the Mother Superior of the Order of the Sojonit Goddess who is the Mother of the Universe and source of all pleasure.”

I instinctively bowed and said. “It is an honor, Ma’am.”

She said to Moisture. “Thank you for bringing him here and keeping him safe.”

Moistpromise spread her arms and curtsied. “I live to serve the Goddess.” With these words she turned and left the room. I was alone with this mysterious woman.

She gestured towards a soft and comfortable looking seating group arranged around a low table with a single big candle on top that was burning and appeared to be the source of the sweet perfumed scent of the room. “Have a seat and get comfortable. You are welcome to take off the mask of course.”

I sat down and took the flexible mask off.

She walked to an expensive looking, delicate carved armoire and asked, “Would you care for something to drink? I have real Terran Line Aquavit here and a nice selection of beers.”

I wanted to decline but the prospect of a cold beer was quite alluring so I said. “A beer would be great.”

She opened the Armoire revealing a modern Union style Serv matic, produced a frosted mug and handed it to me along with a bottle of Budsteiner, one of the most common and quite good Union brands. “I am sorry, I don’t have Holsteiner but I will have it on hand if you ever return here.”

I thanked her, poured the golden liquid into the mug producing a nice white crown. My mouth became dry in anticipation and taking a long drought, if there was a heaven or a Valhalla, I was near that state at this very moment.

A little ashamed, I put the glass down. There was nothing left but some foam on the bottom. She laughed with a pearly silvery voice. “By the goddess, you are the first Neo Viking Sojonit and it clearly shows.”

I squinted my eyes. “Ma’am it appears you know a lot of details about me.”

She sat down crossing her legs. “I believe your security clearance is Blue-Blue-Red. You are a Midshipman in the third year and you are currently posted aboard the Devastator, and your graduation is only 2 month off. Am I correct?”

She knew more than a person outside the fleet should have known about me and I became suspicious. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Ma’am but are you associated with those who brought me here?”

She shook her head. “No worries, young man. I know Richard and O’Brock. I know both of them trust you very much and had lots to say about you when I informed them you had been found.” She made a gesture that incorporated the room and everything around her.

“You see, this is not only a Sojonit temple but an outpost of the oldest known Intelligence service known to an elect few as the Gray Cat society of Sar.”

I was surprised by that, I had never heard of the Gray Cat society or even knew the Saresii had an Intelligence Service. I said, “I thought all national, military and intelligence services had been consolidated into Fleet and NAVINT at the signing of the National resource unification act of 3000.”

She nodded. “That is the official line, but we still exist and so does the elusive Terran Space Intelligence service that is still operating under the command of another Terran Immortal.”

She shifted her position and tugged on the skirt of her dress. Because you are here and because I think you need to know, I am going to initiate you into our most guarded secrets over the next few weeks.”

If she was more than the head of a religious order, I thought she might know and so I asked her “Do you know how and why I ended up here?”

She nodded, “Yes I do. Admiral Dent was a deeply entrenched agent of the Worm. The Worm fears the new activity of the Narth as shown by their willingness to boost the ranks of the PSI Corps and so do the Kermac. The Kermac have tried to abduct you before, if you recall your ordeal at Camp Idyllic?”

She knew everything about me and I said, “Why me? I am just one of many and come from a very unimportant planet.”

“Because you are the first who can claim to be the friend of a Narth and more so the Narth confirm that by making you a High representative of their species. You are young and new to all this, I know, but in terms of Galactic Importance, there isn’t much above the Narth. They are not only the most enigmatic species known; they have been around for far longer than even the mythical Pree and the Uni. Now comes along a human, from as you say an unimportant planet and befriends the first Narth to ever join the Union Fleet. They tried to abduct him to study him, to use him as a tool to lift the secrets of the Narth and when that failed you became the next target. They think that you hold a key, that you are important enough for the Narth to reveal their secrets. As much as the Worm fears the Narth, the Kermac are truly terrified and they believe their very existence is threatened if the aggressive Earthers gain access to Narth knowledge and technology. So they worked through their agents and are paying the Worm to get you.”

I frowned. “Little would it do. I know very little about the Narth and there is nothing they could do to me to sell out my friend and tell them what little I do know.”

The mysterious woman leaned forward and padded my knees. “I can only imagine how terrifying and big these things must appear to you, but you have managed to stand on your own and you are far from an average Midshipman. Do you know just how many people have ever met both the Eternal Soldier and the Administrator?”

Before I could answer she continued saying. “It is a small group. For most, these men are nothing more than legendary figures that existed at one point long ago. Others believe these are titles bestowed on new beings, but you have met them and they know you. The enigmatic Coven welcomed you on their world and they too raised you to utmost importance within their society. You are a declared friend of the throne by the Queen of Saran, the Queen of Klack and the Pan Saran Emperor knows of you. Not to mention that your great grandfather, Egill, is known to be one of the Wise men of the Assembly. All this, Eric, makes you far from average.”

I had held my breath as she said all this and somehow I knew she was right. I was different from the other cadets in that regard.

“I never thought of myself as anything else but normal and average.”

“How many average cadets do you know who have the Medal of Honor and are cleared to the highest Classification level. There have been less than fifty individuals that ever commanded the Devastator ever since Stahl came back with that mighty battle ship. I have it on good authority you even commanded her during a space battle.”

Her pointing all that out made me actually feel quite uncomfortable and I wondered what this all meant. “It sort of happened; I did not plan any of this.”

Mother Superior laughed again. “I am certain you haven’t. No one can plan his or her destiny.I don’t know what destiny holds in store for you, but Algear told me to give you some tools and knowledge that will help you in the future.”

I wanted to know, “Who is Algear?”

“The best friend of Egill. Did you not met him during the Crystal Ball?”

“If I have it must have been very brief.”

“He is one of the wise men.And he is a Saresii, and when I told him of you he wanted me to reveal all this to you and reveal knowledge to you no outsider has ever gained, in the hopes this knowledge might be useful to you one day.”

I tried to digest all this and then I said. “If Dent is an agent of the Worm he could put his goons anywhere. Admiral Stahl must be informed.”

She had an assuring tone in her voice as she said. “He knows. Admiral Dent has been killed by a certain Dai you know and your friends have been informed just a few hours ago that you are alive. Your friend Narth is with them. You will be reunited with them, evetually.”

This was the best news I heard so far. I sighed deeply and was so relieved. I could not help but grin when I heard Har-Hi had killed the traitorous Admiral. “So Wetmouth is an agent too?”

“No Eric, she does not know, only a select few of the High Priestess of this order are aware of this. This order has existed for a very long time and it is much more than a cover. The Sojonites know all the secrets of sexual pleasure of almost every being in the known Universe.”

“How can they?”

“We are not human Eric; we are shape shifters and can take on any form.”

“I never heard of a species that can do that, but then I’ve seen many species unknown to me in the last few days.”

“It is a great secret, Eric, however it appears you attract and collect the great secrets of this Universe like others collect pottery pieces. Maybe it is because you are keeping secrets well and can be trusted with them.”

“I never really asked for them.”

“Well you are not very good at keeping your own secret to well. It seems you are quite comfortable in this costume. Much more than a Neo Viking supposed to be”

My cheeks started burning and I felt ashamed, as she was right.

She leaned forward and padded my knee. “Don’t be ashamed, there are no secrets of this nature that are a mystery to us and perhaps one day you too, will learn how to shape shift. It is a gift that can be learned you know.

I tried to feel more relaxed and said. “Well I bet it sure helps to get into the nice outfits.”

She laughed. “Indeed it does.”

I showed her the Cred Box. “What do I do with this?”

She checked it and whistled behind her mask. “This isn’t small change anymore. I assume it is the sum brokered between Worm and Kermac for you. The Worm spends quite some money on this operation but the Kermac can afford it. I think you should keep it. You could retire from the Navy right away and be a very wealthy individual.

I shrugged. “My grandfather left me much more than that and I have no idea what to do with all this money. I don’t think I am going to retire anytime soon.”

“Keep it anyway, it might come in handy. There are few more potent weapons in the universe than money.” She got up, tugged at her skirt and listened to something I could not hear. “It’s time we leave and remember you have never been here and all I told you was never said.”

“I will not mention anything to anyone.”

“Now be a Sojonit again, put on your mask and follow me.”

Chapter 3 »