Eric Olafson, Midshipman 27

Part 27: INTERLUDE: LARTHOP

Larthop learned about the escape of the girl and was furious. He thought of betrayal, of sheer stupidity or carelessness. Someone had failed to carry out his instructions. That did not explain how she escaped the curse of Califerm. Damage Control had to be done. Having Federal Police and perhaps even Fleet NAVINT snoop around and find out what else was going on was very dangerous at this stage of his plans. In all this he heard about the involvement of the three wise men. That cemented his suspicion that it was not about the Neo Viking kid, but about the older Neo Viking. His rise to prominence was fast and unusual. Being the Representative of such an unimportant world usually meant to sit on the side lines, to converse and be friends with other reps of unimportant worlds. Granted the previous representative of Nilfeheim managed to gain some importance, but it took him many decades and he became a voice in the financial and trade council.Still Erik Ragnarsson was no celebrity and few outside the financial and trade commission knew about him. This Egill however was in constant contact with the First among the Saresii and the Narth. The Saresii have been an important voice even when they have been members in the old, the first Galactic Council, long before the Union existed and then of course the Narth. He doubted there was even one member of the Assembly who did not listen when the Narth spoke. Now these three were called the Three Wise Men and approached daily for advice and opinion.

The ‘Assembly Mirror’ was the oldest news media agency reporting daily of what happened at the Assembly and it now featured a Column called the ‘Wise Man Digest’.

If one believed the claims of the Mirror it was among the most popular features and read daily by almost seventy seven percent of the adult Union population. That was a considerable percentage especially considering that these Union citizens also voted in line with those recommendations.

Larthop was aboard a Cruise Liner and on its way to a world called Tink. It was far down in the outer reaches of Core Ward Sector. Most of this sector was unexplored, but only about two years ago, the Tinkehel had joined the Union and from there it was not far to Koken.

He sat in one of the plush bar lounges of the Cruise ship, a real French cognac on the side table next to him. He did not wear his robe, but an expensive but inconspicuous business suit. Even with a Cruise ship it was a long trip and the ship would stop at several Klack worlds, at Archa and then make the long trip to Tink. He used the time to educate himself, conference with his assets and agents.

He learned that the Three Men had arrived in a fast Saresii ship at Perryton and from a contact he learned they then left for Nilfeheim. Maybe it was possible to intercept and capture them in space. Former Admiral Swybar had both the means and a fast ship. Attempting such a feat of course was about as risky as could be. Having three prominent members of the Assembly captured deep in Union Space, would stirr a Hornets nest of unprecedented proportions. Union would go to war and scour the entire galaxy, turn every rock and squeeze every info source. No this was not the way to go, besides it would not be easy anyway.The Saresii ship was certainly not slow and could only be attacked in real space, meaning at its destination.

Not that he had reliable contact to Swybar anyway.

His agents had deleted and destroyed any real documents at the temple on Perryton and placed forged documents in their place. Making the Temple an independent sect and not part of the Church of Darkness, it helped greatly that the girl or someone else with her had killed all those who could have been interrogated to tell otherwise. It cost him a considerable fortune in bribes and fees to fabricate a new history for the dead men. They were now members of a small crime syndicate using religion as a cover for Califerm smuggle. Documents were well hidden but findable, explaining the reason for abducting the girl that she was a witness to dealings. It would lead to a few arrests; some local Perryton gangsters had been sold out and connected to the affair not even knowing it yet.

But what mattered is that there was no traceable connection to his church, and the Feds had plenty to investigate and arrest and hang. It would fade away and be forgotten soon, if everything worked as he had planned and put in motion.

He leaned back and took a sip of the smooth liquor he loves so much. Carlos Primeros, directly from Spain Earth, weapons and fine liquor no one could beat the crazy Terrans in these areas.

Across the lobby was a group of horrifying looking Archa gathered around a large table. He noticed the server bringing them, what looked like bowls of ice cream. There was much leg waving and high pitched voices as it was served.

While he was certain no one followed him, it always paid to know who is around you. A little to the left were two Human, most likely Terrans as they smoked and one of them had sunglasses shoved into his hair. From the looks and the open thoughts he received they were Environmental specialists on their way to Tink.

Larthop avoided using active Psionics to probe the other traveler’s minds, if there was someone else around with such abilities he could end up being charged with illegal mind reading. A group of three humanoid but not human men arrived from the IST, while they continued walking to the bar, one of them stopped and starred at the big View ports. It was obvious he hadn’t travelled much before. He was close enough for Larthop to say.

“It never stops to amaze me either.”

The man wore a white suit and had skin that reminded him of pale wax.

“It is beyond description. Not so long I lived in a dirt mound, hiding in the woods.I believed all life beyond mere survial was gone forever. Living like an animal in the mud, avoided and being ashamed for being a scientist. Now I am on my way back home, after visiting the most incredible place in the Universe.” His eyes glowed with an almost fanatic shine. “I was on Pluribus Unum, representing our planet. I am Qualnat of the Tinkehel.”

“I am Joh Haneel and I am a Writer. I write articles for Planet and Life Magazine and I am on my way to Tink to write an article about it and then see if there are any other planets in the area. This is new territory for the Union after all.”

“I am the elected Representative of Tink and I would like to invite you to be our guest. I can show you whatever you like to see. There is also Koken, not far from Tink. It is the planet of Origin of the Kermac and there is much to see and write about as well.”

“Oh that sounds intriguing as well. Can anyone go there?”

“I think they let only scientists and scholars go there, but a writer is a type of scholar. While I show you Tink, I am sure I can contact and convince my brother who is part of the Excavation team to get you an invitation.”

Larthop could not believe his luck and used gentle psionic suggestions to make the Tinkehel think of him as a real good friend. He did not notice the woman that had entered the Lounge shortly after the Tinkehel.

Part 28 »