EO A new attempt - not edited

Title: GC X(RW) Captain Olafson Category: Fiction » Sci-Fi Author: Vanessa Ravencroft Language: English, Rating: Rated: T Genre: Sci-Fi/General Published: 12-19-12, Updated: 02-05-13 Chapters: 7, Words: 29,303

Chapter 1: Foreword

Galactic Chronicles Book X

GC 10: Eric Olafson, Stars ship Captain

Vanessa Ravencroft, McCullough County, Texas 2011 ©

Note:

This is the ninth book in the Galactic Chronicles Series and the 5th book in the Olafson Saga

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Dedication:

This Book is dedicated to a99515 and Silvak. A99515 for being my oldest friend on Fiction Press, he has long since then became a true and real friend. Lady Gaga can keep her 1 million Face book friends. All together they aren't as true and real as A99515. Silvak, for being perhaps the first Vulcan I ever met in real life. Pointed Ears? No. Alien? Yes...but a legal one. I call him Vulcan for his razor sharp, logical mind. His methodical love for detail and I like to honor him with this dedication for working so hard on the Wiki.

Foreword:

The Year is 5021 (Old Terran Time). The Milky Way Galaxy is teaming with life and sentient species. Earth is now known as Terra and part of the United Stars of the Galaxies, a multi-cultural mega civilization that by now stretches across two quarters of the Milky Way Galaxy and has a foothold in the Andromeda Galaxy. There are over 5030 distinctive member civilizations calling themselves members of the Union. The United Stars Space fleet protects this mega civilization against external threats.

Eric Olafson, born on a cold world called Nilfeheim raised under harsh conditions of a very traditional inward looking society of Neo Vikings left his planet to fulfil his dream to become a Star ship captain.

He had reached that goal much sooner than he expected and is now the commanding officer of a unique Star ship, the USS Tigershark. The ship is state of the art and incorporates the finest technologies of the most advanced civilizations of the Union.

Together with his truly unusual crew he is sent into Freespace to hunt Pirates and Criminals.

In order to hunt Eric and the Crew of the Tigershark pose as Pirates themselves.

Eric used to be198 cm tall and weigh almost exactly 90 kilos. He still has gray eyes and some say he moves with the same purpose and grace as a Tiger or Nubhir Wolf.

Like everyone from Nilfeheim he has a greater tolerance to freezing temperatures and is able to stay submerged under water for a very long time because of gills and eyes that are adapted to see well under water thanks to a second set of clear eyelids. His muscles are denser than that of a standard human, allowing him to swim longer and deeper. Due to that he has great endurance and is much stronger than he looks.

He loves fish, has a very clear sense of honor and hates unfair situations. Even though he doesn't like to admit it, he carries the same short temper of his father and is more often than not ready to face a challenge with his fists or weapons.

But all this has changed. Eric now lives as Black Velvet, a female Render captain of mysterious background and feared by merchants and other pirates alike.

Currently he appears to be a gorgeous female with beautiful long blonde hair and a killer body. His greatest wish fulfilled and his secret desire no longer a secret, he isn't so sure anymore what or who he is.

That he now looks like the fairer sex has done little to change his general approach to problems, head-on.

He is still oblivious to the fact that he is destined to play a central role in an ancient conflict of cosmic proportions, but something is stirring...

The Author

Vanessa Ravencroft

Chapter 2: Prelude

Chapter 2: Prelude: Nilfeheim October 5347

Prelude: Nilfeheim October 5347

I stood at the south most tip of Tusen Kipa Beach and looked over the churning waves of the Ocean. It was the 7th of October 5347, Eric's birthday. I realized it was my birthday, the birthday of Eric Olafson. Humans had this tradition to celebrate the day they were born. Neo Vikings however celebrated naming day, and I had been named Eric. The name itself had been used many times in both lines of the Ragnarsson and the Olafson familiy lines, yet in my case it was an oddly fitting name. The given name Eric is derived from the Old Norse name Eiríkr. The first element, ei- is derived either from the older Proto-Norse *aina(z) meaning "one" or "alone" or from Proto-Norse *aiwa(z) meaning "ever" or "eternal".The second element -ríkr derives either from *rík(a)z meaning "ruler" or "prince" or from an even older Proto-Germanic *ríkiaz which meant "powerful".The name is thus usually taken to mean "one ruler", "autocrat", "eternal ruler" or "ever powerful”.

My old mentor Skallagrímsson.explained that very meaning to my mother and at least in human terms this name was quite fitting to what I had become,

It was here, Uncle Hogun had taken me in the year 5014 to show me how to shoot a blaster.

The big boulder I had split with my first shots was still there.

I reached out with my mind gathered a fraction of my will and released it gently and made the boulder whole again. It was just a boulder yes, but destruction came so easy to me and wisdom so late.

Back then it was an empty beach, but now and just a little to the east, stood a new burg. It was called Hogun's Rock and it had been built mostly by the strong arms of my beloved uncle Hogun. Even now as the last vestiges of what it mean to be human faded, a warm feeling reached the very core of my being as I remembered this titan of a man, who had the strength of four man. Yet I did not remember him because if his strength but of his gentle heart.

But no matter how strong he was, he was human and he too had met the one stronger than all. Uncle Hogun had died 222 years ago at the age of 112. He had not been buried at sea but under a stone plate in the yard of his own burg. In his dying wish he declared he would arm wrestle Thor and the day he won he would return from Valhalla and lift the plate of his own grave. He died with a bellowed laugh and for the first time anyone could remember a tankard of ale dropped out of his fist.

Elena was gone, and so was Exa. Even Eric Narth Olafson, the god-child of the Narth representative was now and old man. He understood much about the Narth, as much as a human possibly could, but he could not share the Hugavh. He would eventually perish as well.

I did not even know who it was that occupied Hogun's Horst. I did not really know the name of the ones now carrying the name Olafson on our own rock,or who it was that claimed the position of Clan Chief. All I had to do was to expand my mind and names and answers came to me, yet those things faded to be important.

Yes it was good I came here one more time, but I was ready to go now and once I left I would not return to Nilfeheim, yet I was certain a fraction of me would always call this little planet home.

I glanced once more over the vast oceans and caught myself wishing to see once more the white magnificent form of Tyr breaching the waves and silently thanked him for showing me that there was indeed a third way.

I took an instant step and moved from the beach right back into to my old room in the tall tower overlooking our Burg. Circumventing the space between two points in space was easy for me now.

I no longer feared or disliked Psionics and if I wanted I could have adjust Nilfeheim's orbit around its sun and eliminate Longnight altogether but that would destroy a delicate balance and destroy Nilfeheim as surely as the planetary incendiary bomb we stopped so long ago would have done.

Most things in the Universe did not need to be changed and Nilfeheim was just fine as it was.

I smiled underneath my own hood at my memories remembering the days I hated, disliked and always somewhat feared Psionics; and now I found Psionics primitive and inadequate.

My eyes fell on an old leather bound book lying on my desk. It was a molecule by molecule copy of the original log book of the Tigershark, the original of course was kept in that musky, hallowed archive on Annapolis Planet where all Logbooks were kept. This copy was a gift of McElligott; the former Admiral of the Fleet.

Ah yes I wanted to finish telling my story. My fingers brushed over the paper and I noticed the date of a particular log book entry and next to the book my old PDD where I promised to write down my story. I better sit down and continue.

There is no real appointment I have to keep. I could sit here and write a thousand years, but the urge to leave this part of my existence behind grew. For all I was and for all I became I was also still Eric and a Neo Viking and we kept our word.

Ah yes, I had stopped just before we reached Brhama Port. Oh that was still early in my life, and there is actually still quite a bit to tell.

So if you like follow me and read how it all happened.

A Narth (Formerly known as E. Olafson, Admiral Ret. USotG Navy)

Chapter 3: The Shattered Star System

Chapter 1: The Shattered Star System

Free Space was not a natural region, it existed only on maps, in Nav-Tanks and Computronic files.

Its boundaries had been defined by diplomats and delegates during the last Armistice Conference on the planet of Intergalactic peace.

The Big Four, the Blue and about seventy independent space faring civilizations discussed, argued and finally agreed on this region. It was to act as a buffer zone between the Big Four and give those who did not want to ally themselves with one of the big powers a place to exist after their own fashion. One of the stipulations was that no official ships or parties of any of the Big Four were allowed to enter Free Space, including Military ships, law enforcement or even science expeditions.

Free Space was meant to be a Free Trade zone for civilian commerce and traffic enabling commerce and slowly enable lasting peace.

The Big Four, namely the Shiss, the Galactic Council (Kermac), the Nul and the United Stars of the Galaxies watched that none of the others broke that treaty, but they all did, not openly of course.

Free Space did not turn out to be the region of peace where free commerce and civil exchange of culture would erode the differences as the dreamers, diplomats and Utopians hoped it would; instead it became a breeding ground of pirates and a destination of the lawless from every corner of the Galaxy. Planets like Sin 4, Alvor's Cove, Kalimant ,Drogs and N'ger gained notoriety as places where law and order meant nothing.

Most of the seventy societies that signed the Treaty to remain independent regretted their decision as their worlds became the target of pirate attacks and Slave raids.

The biggest independents were the Togar, the Kartanians and the Shattered Kingdoms of the Oghr.

The Kartanians hated the Togar and the Togar disliked everyone, except for dinner. The former ancient Oghr Empire, shattered into Nine Kingdoms were constantly fighting among each other, didn't get along with the Togar and considered the Kartanians hostile competition and agitators. To all the freelancing pirates and Renders came the Shiss sponsored, openly denied and condemned Shiss Raiders, Countless schemes and covered actions of the Kermac and the undercover fleet of the Union. Not to mention the not always legal dealings of private corporations.

So far it seemed only the Nul actually kept their part of the treaty and showed little interest in Free Space affairs.

In other words, Free Space was dangerous, completely lawless and far from peaceful.

1-

Terrans called this spiral shaped star island the Milky Way Galaxy, The Saresii called it Nsorothee and like everything Saresii it sounded refined and melodical but literally translated it meant Giants Sneeze.

Every star faring civilization had their own way to describe this incredibly beautiful spiral wheel. Stars were born and stars died. Black holes slowly rotated through it all, devouring energy and matter alike. It was a seemingly eternal process an yet there was a beginning and an end to everything. In cosmic terms this was a young Universe and this Galaxy had only completed about sixty rotations. For most living beings it was simply impossible to really comprehend the time of just one such rotation. 225 Million Years was simply a number, something abstract and beyond any understanding. Compared to that what significance were the 3000 years the Union existed? The Uni and the Pree rose and disappeared within one single rotation. The Saresii and the Seeinans clashed with the Dark Ones just about a Million years ago.

Such time spans meant little to the beings in the shiny cone shape spaceship that just dropped out of Quasi Space here at the edge of one of the spiral arms. Inaudible to living ears electronic feelers stretched out in all directions testing and scanning the surroundings.

The crew of that pointed metal object measured time in days and hours and the muscular, dashingly dressed ship master was not concerned with galactic time spans, he was more concerned about the here and now. If everything went to plan they would enter what the Kermac called secure space of the Galactic Council

They had travelled further across the Star isle than ever before and had reached space none of his kind has ever entered. His ship was the pride of the Xandrao Empire, bristling with weapons and crewed with the finest and best space warriors the Xandrao Star Academies could produce. There should have been no reason for concern, yet he was a seasoned Shipmaster and like many of his kind who were in such a position for a long time developed a sixth sense for conditions that weren't quite right. He felt that insubstantial, unexplainable tingling down his spine that told him something was not as it should be.

He paced nervously behind the row of the twelve scanner and sensor operators. Each was a highly trained individual from the Royal Academy and they did their jobs well. Xandrao Scanners were incredibly complex systems and required constant calibration.

Behind these Scanner operators sat the co-relator who typed the Sensor reports into the Situation Calculator. It was a very demanding position and required much concentration. That this was an uneccesarly complicated way of doing things, especially on a space ship was not entirely lost to the Ship Master but this was the way it had been done on Xandrao ships for a long time and no one really ever called the Xandrao a very practical race.

With a sigh he noticed Prince Albra step through the access doors and come up to the Command Center area.

The prince was a favorite of the Emperor and thus it was him who was sent on this perhaps most important mission in Xandrao history. The prince was no fool and quite intelligent, despite the centuries of inbreeding among the noble houses and approached Noldra Dorrx the ships head master. Compared to the gold and silver glitter ladden uniform of the prince the ship masters red and gold trimmed uniform appeared quite plain and subdued. Albra masterfully swirled his cape and in a theatrical gesture and said with his high tenor voice. “I missed you at the table and had to entertain the Kermac envoys all on my own.” The Shipmaster bowed slightly as it was required but despite the presence of the prince, he kept his eyes on the readout of the Threat and Situation Calculator. Without making the neccesary respectful gestured he said. “My presence would have not been noticed with you in the room. All eyes are on you, all ears are on you and all attention is given to you when you are present.”

The prince looked down at himself and nodded, “Yes of course and I do look rather dashing tonight if I may say so. The Kermac envoy gifted me this cape. Don't you think it is fabulous?”

“It will be the envy of all the Beauty Boys at court no doubt.” Nolbra hoped the prince would get bored and leave the Command Center.

However instead of the prince leaving, one of the Kermac envoys followed by two of his Dolbarian servants also decided to visit the command center of the ship. Nolbra could not supress the annoyed snort that passed his nostrils. He didn't like anyone strolling on his Command Center without having business there but there was not much he could do or say. The Prince was in command now and the Kermac were important guests of state and the representatives of a mighty galactic power.

The Kermac who had just arrived was much smaller than even the smalles Xandrao. Unlike the Xandrao he had no fur or hair at all and the Kermac's skin was snow white.

Nolbra was covered with a coarse short brown fur form head to his hoofs. Two massive horns protuded from his forehead just above his fur covered ears. His arms and legs were bulging with rolling muscles. Compared to him the Kermac looked weak and sickly and that envoy did not even have a tail. Again a snort of disdain escaped his flared nostrils. The Ship master was certain the Kermac's man hood was just a small as the being itself, there was certainly no room for a Xandrao sized penis underneath that flimsy robe. Everything was small and weak about the Kermac, but he knew they were an old species and if you believed their claims they were the undisputed and technically most advanced species in the Universe. That Kermac also demonstrated that he was able to somehow sense the thoughts of others.

The Kermac made a sweeping gesture towards the view screen. “Why are we not trans-light, what is the meaning of this delay?”

Noldra flared his wide nostrils and curled his lips. “We just crossed the void between the spiral arms and it taxed our engines to the very limits. We must pause to service them.”

The Kermac somehow managed to look down at the much taller Xandrao and said. “I forgot how childish primitive your technology is.”

The Prince said. “Yet your ships seem to be unable to reach Xandr as you came to us aboard a Dolbarian ship and from what I have seen theirs are not superior to our technology. I know our Emperor and my beloved Prince thinks much of you but frankly so far we only seen visuals and recordings about Kermac supreme technology.”

The Kermac's smooth face was moved by an emotion of anger. “Your's is a childish race and you are but a servant tasked with providing conveyance. No explanation should be given to you, but we can not travel in our magnificent ships as this is Freespace, a region where Kermac ships cannot go. I explained that to you. But you soon will see Kermac might and splendor and you will beg to become a serving member like so many.”

The Prince standing behind his Ship master was used to speak his mind from birth and so he said. “Then explain to me again why the mighty Kermac cannot travel here. Who would dare to deny you?”

The Shipmaster noticed the thinly veiled and growing anger in the Kermac’s face and the clenching fists. “No one, Kermac are supreme. No explanations are needed, now get this ship moving so I can show you Kermac might indeed.” With these words the Kermac left but the Dolbarians remained. The Prince actually sat down on the Command Seat, technically reserved for Noldra only, but if it kept the Emperors son out of his way it was a good thing.

The Ship master crossed his massive arms and stared through the view port in the eternal night of interstellar space. As far as Noldra knew, the Kermac were the masters of a huge Star Empire with many member species that served them and in return received the benefit of protection and wise guidance.

The Xandrao were themselves conquered and ruled over a mighty twenty star system empire. Their fleet was feared and respected by the Furze, the Dawn and their immdeate Galactic neighbors the Yotenen even conceded a disputed star system to them, without fighting as they knew how dangerous it was to raise Xandrao anger.

Yet he had travelled more than most of his kind and he had seen the ships of the Togar and the Jooltar and he knew just how aggressive these cats could be and how incredibly advance their technology was. That the Xandrao weren't the most powerful or most advanced sentient species was a fact that was not lost to the Emperor himself, and so when the Kermac Envoys showed up, he agreed to send this mighty war ship and his favorite son to establish closer contacts with the Kermac. If it was true what the Kermac had told about an association of many sentient species called the Galactic Council, it was a foregone conclusion the Emperor would decide to join that Galactic Council

Just like the Emperor, Noldra as a high ranking member of the military has seen the intelligence reports on the expansionistic Togar and if the reports were correct they ruled over a region of more than hundred sixty star systems and appeared to have technology even more advanced than the Down.

The Xandrao would fall if the Togar decided to expand and this was the real reason the Emperor even considered the Kermac proposal.

He moved his spoon shaped ears and they twitched just as the ears of his far distant anchestors did to shake of the flies that had troubled his kind for so long it had become a genetic habit and he said to his Engine Maintainer Chief who appeared on a viewer screen. “Don’t give me excuses, tell me when will we be able to resume trans light?”

The technician down in the engine room had his horns cut to short nobs as every Xandrao of the working Class was required to do, but he knew about his value and position and said without lowering his head. “I am not making any excuses, Shipmaster. I am informing you that our engines were strained to the very limit and that I recommend we land at a suitable planet so I can exchange the Main Core with the spare we have along.”

“Your recommendation is noted and dismissed. Will you be able to service them so we can reach Kermac Prime?”

“It is hard to predict, but I assume we should make it.”

“I have your Man pieces and make you a field tilling Grox if we don’t. Now tell me how long until we can resume acceleration?”

“If the main core fails before we reach that destination, Ship Master. None of us will have enough bits left for anything. To answer your question, we should be ready in three hours.”

Noldra cut the transmission knowing that this was actually a very good time, switching injectors and replacing mag shields was a big job and usually took half a day, doing it while in space and in three hours was a testament just how good his Engine Maintainer was.

The Prince on his Command seat had fallen asleep and started to snore, one of the pressed cakes of the finest herb infused grass, the prince liked so much had rolled out of his hand and across the floor.

He looked at the Dolbarian, neither of the two small beings had said much during the entire visit and now they simply stood there, only their bushy tails twitching.

Noldra had to admit to himself he didn’t like the Kermac much and he found these Dolbarians laughable small, but they had fur and they had tails and that was something positive in Noldra's oppinion of things.

Dolbarian tails were not anything like the thick rope like tails with a paint brush like end all Xandrao had. The Dolbran tail was fluffy but it was a tail and to him it was easy to decypher the tail language and knew the two were nervous. So he decided to ask and said. “Why are you nervous? “

One of the Dolbarians gestured towards the viewer. “We arrived in Freespace, big Shipmaster. If we read your Charts right we are in a region called the Devils Playground.”

“Your masters have not really explained what this Freespace is and why is this called the Devil’s Playground?”

The Dolbran looked surprised. “You do not know about the Big Four and Freespace?”

The other Dolbran said. “You Nift, they are from Downward and there is little contact. We are not supposed to tell them about the Big Four or the Union.”

“You are the Nift, as you just did!” snapped the other back.

“You are guests on my ship and guests of my Liege. I can not order you but if you know anything I should know about this region of space then tell me. It is your life too that could be in danger.”

One of the Dolbrans looked towards the door and said. “We are lucky that our Kermac Masters are not of the highest order and their Psionics are mediocre at best.”

The other spread his arms and said. “This Area is called the Devil's playground because it is Pirate infested.”

Noldra started to laugh and then he said. “Pirates? Did you just say Pirates? You Dolbran must be a very meek species indeed. This is the largest most powerful Xandrao ship, we eat Pirates for breakfast .”

The two Dolbran looked at each other and one said. “The Xandrao do not know...”

Noldra said. “I can understand if you are small like that, Pirates might be frightening, but they do not attack war ships, only helpless merchants.”

One of the Dolbran put his small fur covered finger on the map display and said. “Over here are the Kartanians, more advanced than the Togar you fear, but far less numerous. Here are the Nine Shattered Kingdoms of the Ohgr and the Orkh-Oghr could easily eat you for breakfast so to speak, they fear neither the Togar nor the Kartanians.” His little paw moved to another spot and moved in a circle that included at least a thousand light years. “Here are the Nul, warriors that make you look small. Not even the Kermac would ever want to anger them.” Again his hand encircled a large area. “This is the space of the Shiss, mortal enemies of the Nul and fighting them for over 3000 years and they are not loosing.”

The other Dolbran leanded over the map display and pointed with a small needle sharp claw on a single star. “That is where the Holdians are. Our distant cousins.” Again the other Dolbran scolded the other. “You are the greatest Nift I have ever met. I am trying to tell the ignorant Bovine about the Big Four before our Taskmaster decides to come back and prevent any further education of the ignorant and you tell him about the Holdians. They are insignificant.”

He chirped something sounding very angry, Noldra did not understand and then the Dolbran used his claw to draw an area that more or less included a quarter of the entire galaxy and then he added a sizeable area of another quadrant and said. “This you ignorant Xandrao fool is the space the Union controls, it is them the Kermac fear like nothing else. The Kermac lost three war against them. Not the Nul, not the Shiss, not the Togar and all I have mentioned together could hope to prevail in a war against the Union. Oh Xandrao Ship Master heed my warning and never anger the Union, they are slow to anger but if they do and Terrans go to war, you will learn that anything you knew before about this most terrible of all exercises is a child's dream.”

The other Dolbran said. “The Union, the Kermac, the Shiss and the Nul are the Big Four and they have signed a treaty that defines what is called Free Space.”

Noldra snorted. “I don't believe you. No Empire could be that big. It would take years to travel from one end to the other. Messages would travel for ages, it would be impossible to govern.”

The other Dolbran was still pointing at the Holdian home system and had paid little attention. “They are not insignificant, they are Union now.”

“I must concur and revise my statement indeed about the Holdians and you Ship Master of the Xandrao, it matters little what you believe now. You will remember our words the first time you face a Union Battle Ship.”

Noldra no longer paid attention to the wild phantasies of these furry aliens as the scanner operators reported. “Unknown ship contact approaching.”

--””--

Har-Hi the Dai was sitting in the Command Chair of the Tigershark as he had the Conn during the second dog watch. It was another hour to midnight OTT and the end of his shift. The USS Tigershark perhaps the most unusual ship in the Union fleet, with the most diverse crew ever assembled was on her way to a place called Brhama Port. This was an independent mining outpost in a shattered star system and also a notorious pirate port.

At the Nav station sat a 12,000 year old Golden who had been the leader of his kind. It was his first time on this posting. Krabbel the Archa spider and Senior Naviation Officer was off duty, but was present anyway sitting right beside the Golden to supervise the Old Merchant handling this post, while Krabbel occupied Helm. While he was the ships Chief Navigator, he had a sufficient Helm rating to steer the Tigershark.

An Attikan Marine Officer named Fectiv manned Tactical. That a Marine manned a Bridge console was about as unusual as the ship and while it was not against regulations, it was unheard off. Over at Communications sat TheOther, a genuine Y'All warrior.

The Tigershark had its Janus Mask active and looked like a Katarian Armed Trader and pretended to be the pirate ship Silver Streak.

Har-Hi turned a little to face the Engineering Officer, a small squirly furry Holdian and said. “Everything alright with the tractors?” He asked because they were towing a Pirate ship.

The little Holdian answered. “Yes Sir, once the mass is in motion it takes very little to keep it going. The material stress and shear forces are well within expected tolerances.”

Har-Hi said. “We once towed a full size Hospital ship with a Barracuda destroyer.”

The Golden said without taking his eyes of his read outs. “I really want to hear all the adventures you and the Captain had. It seems there weren't many dull moments.”

Har-Hi was both relaxed and highly alert and the tall Dai Than turned to look towards the Ready room door. “Indeed, Mr. Sobody there weren't many dull moments since I met our Captain.”

Narth sitting at OPS said. “I have yet managed to understand what the exact definiton of a moment is. Is it more than a minute, less than 30 seconds. The expression of taking a moment or waiting a moment is quite confusing. Yet I too agree with our XO, the time we have shared...” He interrupted himself and said. “Sensor contacts, at 7.9 degrees due course, distance 4.1. Hostile activity possible.”

Har Hi said. “All stop, Mr. Krabbel. SHIP go to Yellow and be so kind and inform the Captain.”

The voice of the ship AI responded. “She is on her way.”



Yellow Alert and SHIP's voice caught me on Deck R just as I was climbing out of the ships swimming pool. “Captain we have three contacts on scanner horizon. First situation assessment suggests two pirates and a third ship of unknown configuration.”

“Nothing for days and each time I decide to take a swim.” I sighed and said. “All stop, maintain yellow alert and I am on my way.”

I gave the shimmering inviting water a last look before I jumped into the auto dresser and dialed for my usual pirate outfit. Of course I could have stayed and finished my swim and let Har Hi handle the whole situation, but this would have been highly inappropiate out of a number of reasons. I was the captain and it was my responsibility. We had standing orders to investigate any ship contact during our mission here in Free Space and besides this was what I lived for, I could swim anytime. While the Auto Dresser assembled the leather outfit around my recently altered body, I once more remembered Captain K'Tngnk while he let me steer his Pounder Class Battleship. Encounters in deep space were usually extremely rare and most situations developed in or near star systems, the usual destination of space ships. However this was Free Space and the region we traversed right now was called the Devil's Playground for a reason.

Our current course more or less followed the the outer rim of the Scrutum Centaurus arm of our galaxy.

My ship, the USS Tigershark currently disguised as a Karthanian armed Trader named Silver Streak by a marvelous device called the Janus System.

The Tigershark was the most unique ship, perhaps in the entire Galaxy. It was the pinnacle of Union Technology and has been in the works under the Codename "Project Fish" for centuries.

Since no Union Ship was allowed to operate in Free Space my ship was masked as Pirate ship and my crew posed as pirates, commanded by me Captain Black Velvet, a mysterious female Pirate of obscure origin, at least that was cover.

Our mission was it to hunt down pirates as many as we could, gather Intelligence on Union Mil Tech trade, find pirate hide outs and suppress the Slave and Drug trade. Specifically We were to find out more about the Sinister Alliance and eliminate a Pirate Captain called Red Dragon.

Our first foray into Free Space brought us in contact with a living mountain, living rocks and a ship full of human body parts and slaves bound to the meat markets of Togar.

Now we headed clear across Free Space to a region called Demons Cauldron. It was where Free Space, Galactic Council space and the fringes of Union Space met.

The region was close to what the Dai called the Thalim Nebula, where five Suns simultaneous went Supernova. The Nebula was claimed by the Union and much of what had been Galactic Council space in that area had become Union space only very recently after the Union Nogoll war and was still in turmoil and the final boundaries subject to heated dispute and new friction between Union and Galactic Council.

Still in Free Space close to one of the Asteroid fields of the Thalim Nebula was an Asteroid base called Brhama Port. It was both a Miners base and a Pirate port and it was our next destination.

Cateria our Chief Medical Officer rarely spend time on the bridge, stood with her arms crossed next to the Nav Tank Behind me and stared with a brooding gaze at the main viewer, currently showing a spectacular image of the Thalim Nebula. I didn't know much about her and she always appeared cold, declinatory and not interested in social interaction.

Har-Hi sitting on his seat doing his best Cateria impression also starting at the Nebula.

I asked. "I know it is exceptionally beautiful with all the purples and yellows but I would think that you two have seen such sites before. What is so fascinating about that?"

Har-Hi gestured towards the display and said. "Just a little over three standard years ago, my Clan and many others fought a terrible battle on the other side of that. Dai fighting Dai and it was my first deployment in a real battle. Not a Pirate raid but a full scale war against my own kind. just wondered how many Dai Spirits have been added to these colorful swirls that day."

Shea swiveled her seat and also looked at the main viewer image. "The probability that five Suns go supernova at more or less the same time and so close together is…"

Cateria interrupted her with a coarse voice. "It was not a natural event. These were five vibrant Seenian Star Systems, with many billions in population. "She pointed at the screen. "That is where Ataci was, a world as beautiful as Para Para, my mother was born there."

She sighed." If there are such things as spirits then your Dai have joined a few billion of my kind."

While she talked and told us about the Seenian worlds, I could almost see the planet sized Imperial War World firing her main weapons, obliterating the worlds of these upstarts. Before my inner eye I saw spherical ships fighting against entire fleets of Devastator size battle ships, reducing them to mere specks in comparison. Yes they would find the body of the true Master, they would tear heaven and space asunder to restore the Dark One to its rightful place.

"Captain!" I heard Har-Hi's voice.

I turned to him saying. "Yes ?"

He had a strange look on his face and said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes of course, I am fine. I was just listening to Cateria and I was thinking about…" I could not really remember what I was just thinking other than listening to Cateria.

Har-Hi shrugged. " I was sure you muttered something about a rightful place."

"I was more or less daydreaming about what Cateria was telling and tried to imagine how these Dark Ones looked and what it would take to snuff five suns just like that."

Mao turned and said. "I don't think we ,as in Union Technology are all too far away from that. I mean we do have Wurgus Solar Bombs, they are huge and need to be towed into place, but a hundred of them or so can turn a Main sequence star into a Supernova."

I wondered if a Translocator canon could be built large enough to transmit Solar Bombs or if the Bombs could be made smaller.

Narth, shrouded as usual turned and said. "Considering our Captain's train of thought, it is good we Narth decided to be part of the Union. "

His response made everyone turn and despite his shrouded appearance I felt he was amused and Shea said. "What made you say that?"

"Our Captain thinking like a real Terran and contemplating quite frightening realistic ways of accomplishing the feat of killing suns. The decision of Narth to join the Union and thus be allies instead of potential opponents is therefore a good decision. "

Har-Hi had his arms crossed high before his chest as he usually did, gave me a glance from the corner of his eyes. "From everything I know about you Narth, there should be nothing that could harm or threaten you but then knowing our Captain, I tend to agree with you. There is no race or civilization more warlike than those Terran Humans."

I sighed. "Not you too. I heard that accusation several times before. I don't think it is true. Terrans love peace and besides I am not a Terran. I am a Norse from Nilfeheim."

Cateria leaned forward so I could see her and for the first time I actually saw her grin. "Yes, that is such a peaceful society. " She looked to the ceiling and said. "SHIP wasn't it you who told me about Nilfeheim. What is their favorite past time?"

SHIPS voice too had an amused tone as she said. "Skull bashing if I heard the Captain,right."

Now it was me crossing my arms and pretending to be offended and said. "What a fine crew have, not even my own SHIP is helping me." Shaka's raised his Virtu Helmsman helmet and said looking over his shoulder. "They always pick on us poor, defenseless Terrans, but they are sure glad to see us when they picked a fight with someone they can't beat alone."

Narth spread his arms. "Our Helmsman reinforced my earlier statement."

I wasn't sure if I should scold him for telling them what I was thinking, if I should be proud and take it as an accomplishment or if I should be ashamed of my heritage and its reputation.

My musings were interrupted by SHIP. "We are reaching the last way point before we drop out of Quasi Space and reach our destination."

I cleared my throat and said. "Well back to business guys." I sat up straight and the Intui-Controlls were sliding under my hands. SHIP the AI was getting more and more in tune with me and she was able to read my body language, before I even consciously thinking what I wanted to do. "Shaka drop us out of Quasi, reduce to drift and keep emissions low. Shea, Ship and Narth scan the area and get me a tactical on Orb view. Mao please launch two KELPIE drones and park them on apex and nadir position above that brown dwarf."

Their sharp Aye Captains resonated in my audio relay as I raised the seat into the Battle dome position. Even though there were no indications of any hostile contacts, we were about to approach a well known Pirate nest. The Battle dome gave me an unobstructed view of space. I could turn and see into any direction with a mere move of my eyes. The displayed images were simulated and computronic enhanced my limited natural senses so I could see what otherwise would be to fast, to far or to dim for me to see on my own.

Our sensors picked up several energy sources right away and the system associated a cluster of symbols to each, giving me the analytical results from science and tactical.

The KELPIE drones were another part of our special NAVINT equipment, football sized drones, cloaked with special diffuser fields scrambling their already minute engine trails and loaded with the most advanced scanner and sensor technology our society could engineer. It was the first time I used them, after getting a Neural Upload briefing o their capabilities just a few weeks ago.

Narth reported first as it was his job as the OPS Officer. " 57 artificial energy sources, 38 belong to fixed installations, consistent with Asteroid mining bases of Tech Level 6. Fifteen energy sources are analyzed and belonging to small space craft with very limited FTL capabilities. Three belong to larger signature space ships and the main energy source belongs a central construct consistent with the reported position of Brahma Port."

Now Mao delivered his report. "Hans has one of the Signatures on file. It belongs to a known pirate ship, the Bloody Mary of Captain Crimson Curse, a heavily modified Kartanian War Cruiser. The others are not on file."

Shea said. "It appears this is simply a failed star system, all science data suggests natural causes for the collapsed star. There is enough asteroid and planetary matter for a bout 12 planets ."

Even though he was not a senior officer I still blinked at Sobody's symbol and he immediatley responded. " The System is locally known as Bennett's Field referring to the large family enterprise running the local operations."

I lowered the seat and said. "I think I like to check things out, low profile before we officially make our entrance."

Har Hi said. "We could use the Tullerman Scull that came with the Mighty Nine."

Sobody said. "Tullerman Dinghies are very common around these parts, often used by Scavengers. Most likely a small crew of unlucky scavengers crossed the path of the Mighty Nine."

-""-

Chapter 4: Brhama Port

Chapter 2 : Brahma Port

The Tavern was called the Mother Lode and had been chiseled and burned directly into the rock of the Asteroid. The floor was made of metal grating placed in metal frames over more rough rock, Something small skittered between the pieces of waste and garbage that had fallen through the slots in the floor. The bar of the tavern occupied much of the left side of the tavern while a viewport with a good view at one of the Asteroid bases' mooring arms was on the other side.

The shabby looking Tullerman brand 25 meter Dinghy we had used to come here was no moored there next to two much bigger ships and two ugly banged up looking miner tugs.

The tavern was filled about to half its capacity with the roughest looking bunch of humans and non humans I had ever seen. The air was putrid not just because of the strong and alien drinks served and consumed but also of rancid body odors of unwashed and unkempt individuals of a dozen species or more.

As per Har-Hi's suggestion we had taken the Tullerman ahead of the disguised Tigershark to get a feel of the situation. This would be the first official appearance of Black Velvet and her crew after all.

I wanted to see and feel how other Pirate captains talked and acted. For this Har-Hi and I had disguised ourselves as Free Space Scavengers, a disguise suggested by Sobody. Scavengers were mostly ignored and at the bottom of the feeding order of the galactic space faring community and so it was we were pretty much ignored here on Brhama Port.

We had settled down on a quiet table in a corner and nursed our drinks while keeping our eyes and ears open.

Har-Hi was for the first time in a true disguise, Shea and Elfi had done a great job as he looked now like a dark red furred Jooltar, a canine species believed to be distantly related to the Attikans. Unlike the Attikans however they did not live in the Large Magellan Cloud, but were a small independent species that made their home somewhere in a small sphere of influence beyond the Kartanian Conglomerate. The Jooltar were only briefly mentioned in Xeno Class but as I understood it was generally accepted knowledge that they have stolen most of their technology instead of inventing it.

To complete is fur covered body flex mask he wore an outfit that was diced together from several sources and didn't look new or in good repair. That the costume he chose had to be red was something he insisted upon.

I was made up to look like a black Nogoll. Since Nogoll space was not far from, here, and the black Nogoll didn't fare to well in the still very recent Union Nogoll conflict, Sobody said it was a good choice for a costume, as encountering a black Nogoll in Free Space wasn't unusual.

Har-Hi had dropped a few small Polo coins into a slot next to the table and selected a simple battle strategy game that was now displayed on the table surface. We played it and apparently paid no attention to the surroundings, but we both carried Nano fiber periscope optics and directional microphones. My Nogoll horns carried the optics and the large Nogoll ears the directional audio sensors. Har-Hi was similar equipped and that allowed us to focus in on any conversation and watch without appearing to watch at all.

The barkeeper was a three armed Pertharian.

Either his business was not very good or he had other problems saving money for a cybernetic replacement or a re-grow therapy but he tried his best to keep at least the glasses and the bar counter reasonably clean, as he kept polishing glasses whenever he did not serve drinks.

Two more Pertharians came in and sat down at the other end of the taverns guest room. I was around those giants long enough to notice the Barkeep was not too pleased to see them and he didn't speak to them.

The atmosphere of the taverns was not very cheerful or very lively, everyone kept to their business and while there was a constant din of voices no conversation was held loud enough to carry far.

On a table not far from us were three Oghr, I was not sure of what subspecies, playing a game with dice. They appeared to be miners from one of the Asteroid mines in the system.

It wasn't long after the arrival of the Pertharians when a man with distinctive Dai features appeared. He even wore Dai armor, however his was not red but black and adorned with purple panels. His harness did not carry a clan glyph.

He looked around and went straight to the table of the Pertharians. I zoomed in on that table using a sub dermal sensor track on the side of my index finger and rubbing my thumb over it. The other Horn of my bio flex mask contained the latest in NAVINT communication technology, a picto-burst GalCom transmitter and with it I was connected with the Tigershark. So they could see and hear what we did. The images were directly sent to my visual nerve.

Har Hi whispered in my ear piece and said without moving the jaws of his fierce canine predator mask. "That is a ancient Assassins armor suit, the long extinct Mar-Do tribe was famous for those, he wears it in a way that I am certain he knows how to use it, but he is no pure blood Dai from the looks of it."

Through the crisp optics I saw him placing a complicated folded small piece of paper on the table and one of the Pertharians produced one that matched it.

Hans voice spoke to me. "This is a Narly Angularity, this is how Nul agents identify themselves."

While I silently acknowledged the half Dai spoke and I could hear every word. He said to the two giants. "It is quite foolish to dress up like Pertharians. There is hardly a more loyal species to the Union and only a handful ever went astray and there is already one tending the bar and carries the price of his betrayal openly. His family most likely ripped out that arm and he has enough honor left not to replace it, seeing you with all four arms is not sitting well with him I can tell."

So we weren't the only ones pretending to be someone else. I mused and wondered if there were even more like us and them.

One of the giants spoke to the man."We are aware of this but our size restricts us to few species we can portray. It is however pleasant to meet you once again, Damon Honsu. We would not agree to meet anyone else."

So the Half Dai had a name. Shea flashed a message over my retina display and it read. "Intel report on Damon Honsu is very sparse, but biometric analysis confirms he is half Dai and half Asian Human. Ship is certain to 99.99 percent that the voice is created and not natural. Chances are he is not what he appears either. Visual Data Analysis on the false Pertharians is more revealing and we are certain these are Nul Agents."

I acknowledged her report with a blink and focused on the dialog on that table that turned out to be much more than a chance meeting of Pirates or Freelancers. The man named Honsu said. "This is Brhama Port, Guys. You could be all yourself, two Nul be less suspicious than two Pertharians. No one around here is a particular fan of the Union and Pertharians are as Union as Terrans."

"Let us not dwell on our choice of disguise Mr. Honsu. We are certain you are not always Dimon Honsu to the world either. You do business with us long enough to know that we are no fools."

The Half Dai sat down, folded his hands on the table and said. "Indeed I know and I am glad you have agreed to meet with me."

"We agreed as we too have an agenda we must discuss with you, but for now tell us why you wanted to meet us."

" I am here to see what the chances are for you to meet with my Kermac contacts."

The same disguised Nul answered. "We are not interested in meeting the Kermac. For it disgusts us to deal with these squealing, self important, meddling dwarfs. It is true We don't like the Union but we much prefer them over the Kermac and if the Union ever decides to move against them, we won't stop them."

Now the second disguised Nul spoke for the first time. "However there are two recent developments of great concern to us and believe you can help us with the first and we might consider information exchange with the Kermac regarding the other event."

I had to remind myself to move my piece and keep pretending to play as the conversation went on.

Honsu said. "Can you be more specific?" The second Nul answered. "The First Gray born Nul in decades has disappeared. Grays, you must know are of tremendous importance to us. Decades can pass without one being born, and sometimes even centuries. Whenever a Gray is born an important event is about to take place. It always has been so. Sixteen Nul cycles ago a Gray One was born and not just to any family pod but he was the first offspring come to the plane of life from the loins and line of our Wise Leader. This event was hailed as tremendous omen. The Gray One was to be our next leader and he was trained in all things. The Gray One exceeded our greatest expectations and all Nul rejoiced as he would be our second All Gray ruler.

The Gray One was sent to take the Purification bath in the Holy Ashes of Narl Gatu our first Civilization. To do so the Gray entered the purification sleep and was sent aboard the Narl Tompe barge on his way. The prince never arrived at Narl Gatu."

The first Nul spoke with agitation in his voice. "The Nul Realm left no trace unchecked and we came to the conclusion he had been abducted, captured by Pirates or Freelancers daring to infiltrate Nul space. We know he is still alive and somewhere in Free Space and we will pay you whatever price you demand if you find our Prince. You have six month to find him. After that we will search for him and no planet and no asteroid will be spared in our search. Of course that would mean the end of the Free Space treaty and war."

I held my breath under the warm fur mask and for a moment forgot to play the game. There was the potential of Intergalactic war discussed on a shabby table inside a low class tavern only 30 meters away from us.

The man in the dark Dai armor said. "I will do my best if he is alive and in Free Space I am sure I can find him. I somehow doubt it though. Could he not been taken by the Shiss or the Union?"

"The possibility that it was the Shiss is still considered and if we find evidence it is so, then we will increase our efforts to unprecedented levels to annihilate all that is Shiss."

Again the second participated in the Conversation saying: "While it is not completely impossible that it had been done by the Union, it is very unlikely as they much rather test our resolve with entire fleets and testing our strength provoking large scale skirmishes. The Union respects us, we know. They however do not fear us."

"I will keep my eyes and ears open, if there is a Nul warrior kept prisoner or sold in Free Space I should be able to hear about it. Can I ask how you know he is still alive and in Free Space?"

"It must be so. The seer of Narl Gatu said we have six weeks before our Prince, who according to the Seer is in a strange land will transform forever. The seer was brought to the last position we knew the prince was and the Seer pointed towards Free Space"

Now the first Nul spoke again. "Our leader believes that the Prince is transformed from being alive to being dead."

The Half-Dai snorted and made an amused facial expression as he said. "I thought your investigation was done with sensors and tracing engine trails. You place too much trust in a Seer. I know a thing or two about Psionics and no Psionic gift can predict the future. Maybe he simply went off course and burnt up exiting Quasi Space too close to a sun?"

The first Nul in his disguise said raising his voice. "The Seer of Narl Gatu is no Psionic user. We Nul have no talent or use for Psionics. But the Seer is no mere Nul and he has been with us since we Nul rose from the Ashes of Narl Gatu. The Seer has always been correct, always!"

Honsu did not respond to that but waved to the Barkeeper and ordered Thil.

I knew Thil was a watery, weak beer like drink and I moved a game piece not even knowing if it was my turn and kept listening.

The Half Dai said to the disguised Nul agents. "Let us talk about the second event then. The one you mentioned could make you consider a meeting with the Kermac."

"We like to make it clear that we might only agree to a form of information exchange, nothing more. I personally would rather join the Union than deal with these meddlers."

Honsu shrugged and said. "I am only the enabler, I make the connection. The Kermac have asked me to make contact with the Eye of Narl. What you then discuss or agree upon concerns me not."

The first Nul said. "The Golden are no longer Neutral. As small as this Civilization appears to be, they have considerable technology, immense knowledge and contacts to species and civilizations none of us have heard off. Their resources easily equal those of any of the Big Four."

Honsu put down the mug he had just received and waved his hand. "Are you sure this is correct information? The Golden are synonymous with neutrality and have been so for eons. Have they decided to join and side with the Kermac?"

"We are surprised you have not heard of it, Damon Honsu. The Golden have applied for Union membership and it has been granted just a few days ago, they are full members of the Union. We just received message from our Diplomat at Pluribus The Message traveled per GalNet to Bokta World a Union Outpost where we maintain a trading post and was then transmitted via Myon Corresponder to Natu Toth our Throne world. Since we do not have the benefit of instantaneous messaging as the cursed Union all this it happened about 3 weeks ago."

The voice of the Half-Dai was no longer sounding as certain as he had before as he said. "Could it be a trick, propaganda or false information? Sobody the First Merchant would never agree to something like that."

"Would we be here and consider a meeting with the Kermac if it was a trick? Sobody the First Merchant never made a secret of his admiration for the Terrans. A delegation of Golden Elders is still on Pluribus. We still try to gather more details, but the entire Golden Fleet has been turned over to Union Fleet control and we know from reliable sources that the first Golden Spheres have been seen on their way to Arsenal to be fitted with Translocator Cannons, no doubt."

Honsu cursed. "Violent gravitons, Gantoor's ghost be damned, Golden Spheres are almost equal to their Battle ships already and their sensors are second to none."

"This is not just a one planet society joining the Union. This is as historic as the Klack making that decision."

The second Nul spread his upper arm pair. "Not to mention that we have information that the Narth are now active Union members and even sharing some of their technology. With all this they might listen to their Warrior Admiral and attack and be done with all Kermac and perhaps all Nul Nul once and for all."

Honsu leaned back playing with his glass. "It is true, the Narth are suddenly an active member. They have strengthened that cursed PSI Corps, and no spy, mole or traitor is safe from their powers."

The first Nul sounded just as concerned as his partner as he added. "With the Union that strong, and getting stronger by the day, all it takes is a spark or an incident and their Assembly will call for war. I have been a diplomatic guest during their last Union Week Celebrations and I have seen their parade. It takes a lot to frighten a Nul, but I won't forget the sight of Union Battle Groups."

The first agreed with his colleague and said. "Find the Nul Prince and if he is alive and returned to us we will agree to meet the Kermac and discuss what options we might have to address these developments. If he is not found, Nul will go to war and all diplomacy and subterfuge will end. The Nul will perish we know but until that day, the Galaxy will be a place of death and destruction never seen since the days of the Dark Ones, that is the word of our First Nul."

The Half Dai got up and said. "I will search for your prince with all haste and all efforts. Such a war must be prevented."

With these words he left.

I wished I could follow him and find out more about this character, but something else happened and prevented me even contemplating how to do accomplish that. The Barkeep stomped from behind his bar to the table of the two disguised Nul and pointed all three of his arms at them and said with a loud voice. "I don't like anyone mocking me or my species. I paid the price of looking to the Arcane Order and I live here in exile but you are not Pertharian; you are something else in disguise. Now why would anyone come to this station pretending to be Pertharians? I think you are spies of some sort!"

Now everyone in the Tavern was paying attention and almost everyone was pulling weapons.

Both disguised Nul got up, toppling the table doing it and the first raised his hands. "We are not Union!"

The Barkeeper growled with anger saying "You are also not Pertharian!"

"We are Nul. We had no intention to insult you, but we will not be threatened."

"This is Free Space and since there are no Nul Traitors or Nul Freelancers, you are Government Spies. No real Pertharian would ever sit in a bar where a Tak like me serves drinks."

Before the situation escalated, three men in Kermac Battle suits stomped in, they looked exactly how I imagined Half Kermac half Shiss would look and their leader said." We are Bassetts and we welcome everyone on our Rock, except spies of any kind. Be it Nul, Union, Kermac or from wherever else. We also don't allow fights with power weapons, so we want you to leave now and don't you ever come back."

I had the strong feeling that this was a staged show, pre-arranged in case the Nul would be discovered. The Barkeep however was satisfied and so were the patrons.

This locomotion however also served the Half Dai to slip away.

I gave Narth the signal to move the Tigershark.

It didn't take long and one of the station's owners ,a male Shiss with distinctive Shiss features in his otherwise humanoid Kermac face, walked over to a big central located table where two beings sat and drank. One of them was Captain Swift. I remembered his face well from the recordings of the Danny Houston. My audio pick up overheard the Half Kermac say. "It might be of interest to you but we just retrieved the docking request of the Silver Streak, commanded by Black Velvet and she is towing in the Mighty Nine as a prize to sell."

Captain Swift was human no doubt, but I believed he too had some non human genetics in his DNA as he appeared unusually tall, even sitting down and his skin had yellowish waxen hue. He looked up and said with surprise in his voice. "Are you sure it is the ship of that cut throat Volting?"

An Oghar with elaborate decorated lower jar husks and rough scaled skin, sharing that big round table with Swift, touched one of his gold and jewel encrusted teeth and said. "I have heard much rumors and stories about Black Velvet, but nothing really substantial. No one has really seen her, no one knows if she is the same one that supposed to be active 500 years ago, or someone using the same name."

Swift shrugged. "I haven't seen her either, but I know she is on the top ten wanted list of the Union and that takes some serious crime and they don't put ghosts on that list."

Shea informed me silently. "The Oghar is Crimson Curse and his ship is the Bloody Mary. He is one of the most successful and experienced pirates of Free Space as he is in business for over 40 years."

Now my disguised ship became visible in the bright flood lights of the mooring arm and despite the crudely added oversized ISAH pods and the shoddy welded armor plates around its nose cone, it looked quite dangerous. I loved the modern sleek and foreboding look of its true form as it was my ship, but even in its disguise as Silver Streak it looked very dangerous and like a ship that had been at least twice form one end of the Galaxy to the other. Right behind her the Mighty Nine slipped onto another Mooring point. Hans and Mao were aboard the captured Pirate ship and maneuvered into the parking position.

Everyone in the Tavern was looking and the Oghar said. "It is the Mighty Nine alright, looks like she's missing one drive pod and someone clipped her claws real good, two turrets gone and the third damaged, but leaving everything essential intact, looks like the Silver Streak has an excellent gunner."

The Captain of the Swift pointed at my ship and said. "That old Kartanian has some serious fire power. Look at the size of those Nul froth casters. Those aren't easy to come by and even harder to install."

The Oghar kept fiddling with his tusks and grunted. " Them ISAH pods look like the old Three-Ninety B series. State of the art 500 years ago and I bet my left tusk they are Type XI and with four of those I bet she is likely to make 350 to 400 klicks to the square second."

"I'd take genuine ISAH Pods over that Karthanian Scrap I got anytime. "Swift added.

Har-Hi and I used the distraction to silently leave our table and enter the ghastly washroom of the Tavern.

Har-Hi covered the false muzzle of his mask and said. "By the lords, this stinks worse than the Enviro Tanks we had to clean."

We watched a burly Oghr leave one of the open stalls, trailing a gagging cloud of stench and said while trying to keep it down. "Can you imagine the Enviro Tank on an Oghr ship?"

Narth popped out of thin air after we were certain we were alone, touched us both and teleportet us back to the ship.

Shea who was dressed in my usual Black Velvet outfit to pose as me for the initial contact with Brhama Port greeted us on the bridge and said."There were no problems at all, they granted us mooring permit, but requested that we pay a mooring fee of 500 Polo full weights for each ship."

I pulled the Nogoll mask and she waved her hand before her nose. "Say was the costume not enough, did you have to adapt the smell too?"

I glared at her. "You should have seen or smelled what they called a Wash room."

Har- Hi was already halfway to the Elevators and I followed him adding. "After Har-Hi and I changed we will make our official entrance and then stay as long as the Swift Profit. That ship will be our next target."

-""-

The Half Kermac eyed us suspiciously sitting behind his desk as I placed a plastic bag with the 1000 Polo Coins before him. He had the same paper white skin and the characteristic small nose and mouth of a Kermac, but unlike them he did have black hair and eyebrows. His eyes I noticed wee neither Kermac nor Human and looked more like the reptilian eyes of a Shiss. He also had pronounced throat folds and his skin featured tiny scales.

He took the coins without counting and placed them in a drawer behind him, and then he said. "I am Nargo Bennett, the Station manager and since you have never been here, Captain Velvet, let me tell you the rules."

He got up and spread his arms. "They are actually quite simple really. We like the business your kind brings, but not the trouble. Fighting is allowed but not with energy weapons or similar destructive devices. I don't think you are interested in mining, but I tell this to all newcomers to Brhama Port. If you do want to scratch some minerals or metals out of an asteroid, let us know first and we sell you a Mining Permit. Don't raid other mining camps and leave mining ships around here alone. Part of the license fee the miners pay is for protection and we take that part quite serious and have the means to enforce it." He took a plastic card from his desk and handed it to me. "This is a catalog of things and parts we sell. If you need fuel we sell that for 800 Polo Full weights per standard 1023 Nogto Bulb. That is about 500 Nul Roos or 992 Union Kilos." He spread his arms."That is about all there is, welcome to the Shattered Star system of the Bennett family." With that he sat back down.

Har Hi, Shea and Narth had accompanied me to the Station Masters office after I was myself again and wearing the usual leather instead of the Nogoll costume.

Narth actually wore a black leather and steel harness crisscrossing over his shroud and he carried even a Nul Gravitor rifle over his back. His head hidden behind a Golden Guard Helmet with polished mirror face pate.

Har-Hi wore his usual red Dai Leather and micro mesh suit with all the swords, knives, weapons and guns in place. Instead of his Clan glyph he had skull and crossbones symbol on his chest, according to Shaka an ancient Terran symbol for Pirates.

Shea wore a shoulder free bodice of white leather, matching over knee boots and a fur cape that that looked very much like my old Fangsnapper cloak. She had her hair tied to a pony tail and wore a white half mask up to her nose. Next to a long Attikan Sniper Blaster casually carried under her arm she also carried her mysterious sword across her back.

She looked dangerous and very sexy at the same time.

That there was plenty of human DNA left in the Half Kermac was evident as he had a hard time making eye contact with me and shifted his eyes from mine to Shea's chest.

I said to him. "Indeed I am not interested in mining but I have a spare ship, I like to sell and I was told it could be done here."

He nodded. "To be truthful, you will not get the same price you might get at Kaliment or Sin 4, but I am sending my brother Kooornt, and he will check the ship and I contact you later today with a price we are willing to pay."

I agreed that this would be acceptable and we left his office.

The Corridors of this Asteroid base were cut out of the rock. Supply lines and hardware directly bolted to the stone and light came from Lumi-Plates shining with a cold bluish light.

There were living quarters, and a few shops.

A tall Jooltan praised his collection of blaster weapons as we walked by and an orange skinned being I could not identify, looked as if it was made out of bread dough and shaped by a very unskilled baker in some sort of semi humanoid shape stared at us out of two black eyes and said. "Ship provisions, I sell ship provisions. I got Shroom Paste and Food Stuff..."

Passing by a few other dealers and merchants we reached the main cavern and went to the same Tavern we had been before.

The Pertharian barkeeper eyed us interested for about five seconds, took our orders and after we paid him lost interest.

We found ourselves a table and sat down.

I had no clear plan what we should do next and at this point I decided to just stir the pot a little and wait what would happen. One point on my agenda was to put the Bennett family out of business permanently. If I could manage to somehow destroy this Asteroid base it would take away a Pirate base and hideaway. The less bases and posts they had to hide the better.

However I could not do it as Black Velvet. There was no weapon in a pirates arsenal that was strong enough to destroy an entire asteroid. We did carry a few P Bombs and one of them would do the trick, but not fast and instantaneous and using a P Bomb was like leaving a Union Calling Card.

Shea leaned forward given me a very nice view down her cleavage and she said in a quiet tone. "I can smell that Washroom even out here."

Har-Hi pointed with his chin to a handful of miners sitting not far from us. "It's not the bathroom, it's them."

She said. "Next time I select a filter mask, don't they bathe?"

Har-Hi shook his head. "Water is very expensive out here and even more a premium at these mining camps. Washing isn't a big priority to them."

Narth enjoyed himself greatly, to him it was all a part of his corporal experience outside the Narth Collective. His voice came into my mind. "You do begin to understand us, it pleases me. I too contemplate how a destruction of this base could be accomplished without revealing our true origin." The Oghar Pirate and the Captain of the Swift Profit were still here and it was not hard to tell that I was the subject of their conversation.

Captain Swift got up and walked over, made a theatrical bow and gesture by tipping his forehead. "I am Curtis Swift, Captain of the Swift Profit and I assume you are the famous Black Velvet. Since I assume we might be in a similar line of business, I thought I introduce myself."

I eyed him up and down and said. "And what line of business would that be?"

"Doing what we please and taking advantage of opportunities that might present themselves, a little of this and that and not particularly caring about anyone else or their rules."

He pointed at the big table. "This is called the Captain's table and I am sure Crimson Curse would like to get to know you,as much as I. He is the ugly Oghar over there."

Before I could respond, everyone turned to the sudden locomotion and noise at the taverns entrance. A rowdy looking crew entered, led by a flashy dressed human with blue skin. He was without a doubt a Thauran.

I cursed silently and wondered How far did I have go, so I would not meet any of those blue skinned bastards. I always had been tolerant blind to another beings form, shape or color but those blue skinned Thaurans started to get to me.

He was accompanied by two muscular Oghr and according to the information I received from Narth those were Orkh-Oghr, the strongest and biggest sub species of the Oghr race.

Narth instantly corrected my thoughts. "No, the Orkh-Oghr are the physically strongest sub species belonging to the remaining Nine Kingdoms. The Ogr who are nearly three times as big and strong are a Union member and no longer a kingdom."

I raised my hands. "Could they not come up with less confusing names. I mean Oghr, Ogar, Ogr it appears the only difference is a vowel here and there."

"After the Oghar Empire fell apart into nine Kingdoms they fought each other with bitter wars over many decades about such naming issues."

While Narth educated me about the Oghr, I observed the new comers who were still standing at the open entrance area that separated the Tavern from the rest of the Asteroids main Cavern.

Trailing the group were three, mangy looking Jooltar warriors.

The new arrived group was joined by four more Thaurans, one of them female and all gaudily and colorfully dressed. If it weren't for the fact that the group was armed to the teeth one could have mistaken them for a traveling circus troupe.

It was the five Thaurans that to me explained the noise and the air of self importance they displayed.

I wondered why the Thauran did not join the Kermac, they could hold competitions of self importance and arrogance and my money wasn't on the Kermac as who would win such a contest.

Narth said in my mind. "I doubt the Kermac would want a thrall species that was equally as good as they in the only field the Kermac really excel."

I formed an answer and expressed my surprise."Never did I think you would say something like this. Not that I mind, but sarcasm wasn't something I associate with a Narth."

His thoughts felt slightly amused as he said. "One might point out that we shared the Hugavh and that means I also adapt to your way of thinking characteristics. However it is us Narth who observe many of the civilizations for a very long time, and the Kermac are very good at being arrogant and self important. They have inherited this haughtiness and superciliousness from the UNI very long ago." His thoughts paused for a moment and then his mental voice said to me.

"This arrogant self-importance is of course not completely alien to humans, especially those who consider themselves of Noble origin. Now this is a concept I have spent much time analyzing and have yet to come to a satisfactory conclusion."

I said to Narth silently and on our shared mental level. "I don't completely understand it, yet it is in a way also part of my heritage, being of an Old Clan on Nilfeheim is something very similar. My clan is considered very important only due to the fact that we carry an old name. I also don't think all nobility is bad. Look at our Princess, she can switch it on and off just like that, and then there is Shaka. He never makes a big deal out of it but I met his father, the Zulu King at the Diamond Ball and he radiates authority in a way I can only describe as noble."

Narth didn't respond but I knew he was contemplating what I just had said and put it through his incomprehensible way of analyzing things.

Now he responded saying."My way of analyzing things is not completely incomprehensible, Shea understands it well."

I wanted to tell him, that not everyone had an IQ of 400.

Captain Swift, still standing next to me had also watched the newcomers and rolled his eyes and then said to me. "That is Captain Dentar Bloom of the Roughnir. Even among our colorful society of space-faring professionals he is not the most pleasant individual."

The Thauran pointed out to me as Dentar Bloom yelled to the barkeeper. "Bottles of Solik, Big bowls of Tambark Broth and for me your finest Brohmir Sweat and bring plenty you three armed cretin!"

They sat down at a table not far from us and the red and yellow dressed captain looked around with a disapproving expression in his face and then waved at Crimson. "Of all the ugly sights in the Galaxy, you my dear Crimson are the ugliest. Be so kind and switch chairs so I don't have to look at you!"

The Barkeeper came to our table to serve us the drinks we had ordered and the loudmouth complained. "I ordered and expect to be served first. Don't waste time with the riff raff over there."

The Barkeeper turned and said. "First pay the tab you left the last time, eighty Full weights!"

Bloom put his hand on his boarding saber, but not pulling it and said. "The Solar winds and the Blessed Blue Virgin were not with us the past few months. No prey that carried Polos came our way. However we managed to liberate a collection of nice things that will bring me a hefty profit once I am able to reach the market on Sin 4. We had to stop here to get some fuel."

He made a jovial gesture ."I pay you double I owe you the next time I come by. Now I think you extend my credit, I anger easily."

The Barkeep pointed with one of his arms to the ceiling and to a set of remote controlled Neuro Rippers and said. "You don't scare me Captain Bloom, pay up or leave. This establishment is for paying customers only."

This obviously didn't sit too well with the flashy dressed Thauran. He talked to one of his officers and the Oghar left.

He then said. "I guess I have to do a little auction. It looks like well heeled Captain Swift is here and so is the famous Crimson Curse. One likes to eat and the other likes to rape. So I am thinking I hold a little auction right here and now."

It didn't take long and his Oghrs came back dragging a beautiful white Togar female on a chain behind them.

She wore a metal collar and both her hands were attached to it with short chains, making her choke and at every move. The cruel metal band had rubbed her neck raw and there was crusted blood all around the collar. Her legs kept apart with a steel rod that had cuffs on each end, allowing her to move only with small steps. She had cuts and bruises all over her.

I didn't like Togar and only a short time ago; I wanted to kill them all but seeing this poor female treated like that made me wish I could twist the head of that blue skinned bastard.

Her eyes were big and green, and she had a pink nose, that reminded me of the little Holdian Commander. The Togar female could not talk as she was muzzled with several layers of memory tape around her short snout.

The three armed Pertharian Bar Keeper protested loudly. "Are you insane, Bloom? The Togar Empire isn't far from here and they will send war-ships if they hear a Female Togar was sold here. Those cats don't kid around when it comes to their females."

With a dismissive gesture, Bloom said. "Don't you worry about the Togar. They have other things on their mind right now, besides she is a wanted criminal and I could get good money for her from any Togar male. She might be good in the Death Fight arenas but I am far from Sin 4 and need fuel, and you all know how nice a Togar female can be to human males, if she is properly restrained of course."

His last comment was answered by nodding heads and rough laughter.

The Thauran enjoyed being in the center of attention and said. "Now I know your appetite Captain Swift, but there are many lonely miners here, so the opening bid is 100 Polos."

As disgusting as the sale was the lusting gaze in Swifts face and the dirty jokes and openly described fantasies of the miners present was even more revolting.

It was one of the Miners who said. "I give you the 100 Polos."

Swift immediately countered with a bid of 150. I had forgotten my own drink and my hand was reaching for the butt of my gun, when Har-Hi put his hand on my arm and shook his head almost unnoticeable. He was right of course and I would not jeopardize our mission by starting a fight underneath looming Neuro Rippers, especially not for a Togar, I didn't like in the first place.

The price was at 600 Polos now and it looked the burly looking miner had the deeper pockets, as Swift was not raising his hand again.

There was a moment of silence and it seemed the Miner would take the pitiful looking Togar Female ans do all the things he said he would do to her.

I said. "1000 Polos" and almost surprised myself but I couldn't let her be sold into a fate so cruel. Maybe we could keep her in stasis and let her go somewhere convenient and close to wherever she called home.

My bid put all eyes on me and the Thauran captain noticed me, saying. "Who are you? I sell to anyone but you have to have the cash."

"I got the Polo's anything else is unimportant."

Swift introduced me saying. "That delectable package in skintight leather is none other than the the famous and mysterious Black Velvet."

The Thauran made a mocking bow and said. "Thousand Polos, Full-weight have been called for this wild, soft furred promise of pleasure. Do I hear any other bids?"

Narth whispered."Hans and the Golden are on their way with the money. What do you want done with the Togar female?"

"Have Cateria check her out and then I guess put her in Stasis till we can let her go somewhere. Maybe we can find out where she belongs and see if we can get her as close as possible."

"This might prove difficult, as she isn't what the Thauran claimed she is."

"She isn't Togar?"

"She is, but I think we might have purchased what you would call big trouble."

I didn't like what I was hearing and silently responded. "Can you be more specific than that?"

"I shall accompany her to the ship and probe deeper and then let you know."

Hans stomped in and his massive appearance silenced the crowd for a moment. He looked frightening indeed in his version of a pirate costume.

He wore a crisscrossing harness similar to the one Har-Hi had, across his enormous chest, but his was not made of leather but heavy looking links of Ultronit steel chain and a full sized Nul Gravitor Cannon across his back. His knee high boots were also reinforced with armor plates and he had the appearance as if he could kick a battle robot to scrap. The knuckles of his gauntlet style gloves sported metal spikes.

To finish his look he wore a skull tight leather mask that left the chin and mouth open, with a crest of needle sharp looking metal spikes. He looked like a nightmare version of a dungeon torturer right out of the horror Visuals Mao loved to watch.

No one dared to speak and there was open fear in quite a few of the rough faces.

Sobody walking next to Hans was almost unnoticed. He looked the same as always but his bald head sported a ghastly cross shaped scar. From my adventure on Alvor's cove I knew it meant he was an outcast of the Golden society.

The metal grating of the floor was vibrating with every step Hans made glasses on the tables dance as he came to my table and placed a heavy chest before me.

Sobody unlocked it with a flair of importance and an electronic key he wore around his neck and bowed before me. "Captain as requested your purse."

I was still sitting and said. "Pay that Thauran 1000 Polos."

Captain Swift whistled through his teeth as Sobody opened the chest that was filled to the brim with Polo Coins packed in clear plastic bags and handed the speechless Thauran two of them saying "Two bags of 500 each."

Narth got up whispered to Hans, who took the struggling and terrified looking Togar cat like a toy doll over his shoulder and along with Narth they left.

Into the prevailing silence Bloom said looking at the two bags of money he held. "By the blessed Blue Virgin, that I call no nonsense business. You seem to run a tight ship and gathered a capable crew, respect, respect!"

The three armed Pertharian held out two of his hands. "Now that you have money, I think you need to pay your tab."

Since the Barkeeper held the remote control of the Neuro ripper in his third hand and the projector heads moved with an audible hum, targeting the Thauran, the blue skinned Captain obliged, but he didn't like it one bit as it was evident by his facial expression.

Bloom came closer to our table with his crew close behind him. He eyed the heavy chest and said to me. "You would not be in the market for 80 tons of fine Togar merchandise?"

I sipped at my Dai Beer and said. "No I am not."

"You see, I have a hold full of that stuff, and it will sell on Sin 4 or at Kaliment for good money. The trouble is, I am a tad short on fuel and these tight Basset bastards don't give credit."

I raised my head and looked at him."And why are you boring me with that. I am sure the miners here have always needs for cheap laborers and after a year or two you got enough money to buy fuel, I suppose."

He sucked in air and said pointing his finger at me."I don't think you understand, female. I eat the likes of you for breakfast. I am going to take that chest now and if you try to stop us my men will do the same to you what we did to the Togar female.

Har Hi said."Touch that chest and you touch nothing again with your own hands."

His men drew weapons and he said. "Do the math, Dai, ten against three." The Barkeep jelled. "I don't care what business you have among each other, but no Energy weapons. If you want to brawl with swords and knifes be my guest, but you pay for any damage."

Now Crimson Curse got up, smashing his fist onto the metal table so hard, it left a sizable dent. "Enough of this! Free Space is shrinking by the day and the places our kind can rest and trade are not as common as they used to be. It is you trouble makers that spoil it for the rest of us. If you have quarrels duke it out Captain versus captain as it always has been the custom."

Bloom raised his arms. "Well so be it then. I fight the female and get the Polos, what a splendid suggestion Ugly Crimson!"

Har-Hi shook his head."That is a bad idea, Bloom. Reconsider and fight me instead."

Bloom laughed. "If she wants to play pirate and fly with the big boys then she needs to fight herself. I have no problem spanking her into submission."

I got up so fast, my chair flew and crashed against the wall somewhere in the back, while I was flanking myself over the table, and raked both of my boot heels across his throat and face. My training with Master Alamea and the Academy instructors, the instructions of Siegfrieda, Richard the Outcast and mental uploads I received from the Sojonit sisters merged into an instinctive, distinct style all of my own and I was at a point where I was able to act almost faster than I could think. My reaction was fueled by the old familiar Olafson rage and my growing dislike if Thaurans.

Still in motion I hit the floor and spin kicked the Oghar right next to Bloom for good measure. The Ultronit heels of my boots were terrible weapons at close quarter.

Bloom staggered backward his hands trying to stop the blood spraying from his throat wound, my 45 roared twice and the heavy lead slugs tore into the head of the recovering Oghr,

Bloom had dropped to his knees, there was an expression of pain and the certain knowledge of impending death on his face as he reached out with his other hand. There was no mercy and no feeling of remorse as pointed the muzzle of the antique colt at his forehead and ended his misery with a gory explosion of blood and brain

Har Hi had been right behind me, both swords drawn cutting three of Bloom's men down and a fourth stared at his arm stumps, his hands lying on the floor still clutching a blaster.

Our constant cross training showed that Shea was no longer just a science geek but a force to be reckoned with as she had her strange sword at the throat of the second Oghar, cutting pieces out of his armor with little flicks of her wrist.

Even our Golden turned out to be much more than just an old man of a dwarf like species. He moved his hand and arm in a strange motion almost as if he threw something and then pulled at an imaginary string; the effect of his pantomimic moves however was deadly and gruesome. One of the Thauran crew members fell to the floor cut in half!

Sobody glared at the remaining men and said. "He should have thought twice before pulling a dagger on my Captain while I am around."

I looked around and said."Anyone else thinking, I can't play with the boys. Step on up!"

All this had happened so fast, Crimson was still standing. Swift whistled again."Holy shit!"

Har-Hi carefully cleaned his blades with a piece of silk he always carried and said as he put them away."I did warn him, I might just have clipped an ear of his."

Crimson sat back down and said. "Good riddance to Bloom, maybe we can drink in peace now. You Captain Velvet, of course are welcome to join us here at the Captain's table."

One of the surviving crew members of Bloom's group said. "What of us now, are we to report to your ship?"

I nodded." That's right. Go get everyone of your crew and report to the Silver Streak."

Har-Hi got up and said. "I make sure they are properly accommodated."

Har Hi proved just how strong he was as he shouldered the heavy money chest and he and Shea left followed by Blooms men.

The Pertharian pointed at the bodies. "Is it okay if I get rid of these or do you want them?"

"No you can clan up I don't want them."

Just as I was sitting down at the Captain's table a representative of the Bassett family approached and said."I am Kooornt Bassett and I can make you an offer for both ships."

I pointed to the Golden and said. "My Quartermaster will take care of that."

Sobody grinned from ear to ear and went with the man to a different table.

Swift said. "You certainly live up to your legend and then some."

Crimson quaffed another tankard of Oghar brew and ordered a plate of Lum-Lum Chews. Then he said with his deep growling voice."It is a good thing you dealt with that Thauran. Otherwise I would have, he is the kind just like that cursed Red Dragon and his Sinister Alliance stirring things up too much." He looked around and leaned forward. "He keeps poking the Union like he did recently with his stunt attacking a Union Outpost and they might start listening to the Eternal Warrior and roll in, and then our days will be counted,"

Swift said. "Well the Kermac and the Nul will have a word in that as well, I doubt the Union will risk a war over pirates."

Crimson made a wiping gesture with his big hands. "They can't stop the Union. I tell you Red Dragon and his Sinister Alliance is bad news."

Swift shrugged. "I was considering flying to Itheamh and finding out where their secret meeting place is and joining the Sinister Alliance. There are rumors they plan for something big."

Crimson took one of the Lum-Lums that had been served, but did not eat instead he said. "What use do we have for alliances? Is it not the very reason we do what we do to be free of other mens rules and laws? What good did his last big raid do him?"

I shrugged and played the uninformed. "I played in another region of the Galaxy and haven't been in touch with the news lately. Did they not attack a Union outpost or something like that?"

Crimson chewed with his massive jaws and gave Swift a side look from his small yellow eyes and said after he swallowed. "Aye he did, Outpost 96. Huge Pirate fleet, and a decoy fleet full of ground troops to boot, filled with every gun wielding scum he could hire on Sin 4 and Itheamh. Barley defended he claimed it would be and yet he got his arse kicked, by a bunch of Wolfcraft fighters. He was the only one escaping with nothing in his holds but air. If he has some personal vendetta against the Union, let him do it on his own. I rather be dead than fly with his Sinister Alliance." He grabbed another Lum-Lum and bit in it with resolve.

Swift drank a greenish thickly liquid that smelled strongly of fermented fruits and said."Maybe you are right, you're in this business longer than most."

The Bassett Brother came to me and sighed, pointing at Sobody who looked as pleased as a Nubhir wolf that got the big bone, ad said. "Smart move, Captain Velvet to have a Golden do business for you. If we had continued haggling I would have been lucky walking out of here with my pants still mine."

Sobody got up and came over as well. "I am going with my new friend Kooornt and make sure we get paid."

I smiled at him and said. "You did well, I assume?"

"Considering the location and the small market, yes Captain."

After they left Crimson finished a sixth Lum-Lum and said. "Well I am off and go back to business and I suggest you both do the same." He leaned forward once again and lowered his voice as much as he could. "This region isn't going to be safe much longer."

Swift made a surprised face. "Why are you saying this? This is still Free Space!"

Crimson touched his jeweled encrusted gold encased tusk. "I have it on good authority that the Dai Lord Cam Elf-Na united over 2000 clans under his leadership into one massive mega clan. It is said he is out for revenge. Anyone guilty of dealing with Dai artifacts will feel their wraith. The Bassetts made a killing on Dai scrap, as you know. The big fight between Union and Dai happened not far from here.

Cam Elf Na will need lots of raw materials for the Dai factory ships when he attacks the Union, which I am certain is his next move."

Swift waved his hand."I actually heard the same rumor on Itheamh, but the Bassetts have a defense alliance with the Togar and they aren't far from here and the Togar do keep their contracts, their queen is known for it."

Crimson placed a few coins on the table and said."I care not what you believe, but it would need more than two thirds of the Togar fleet, to defeat 2000 Dai Clans and I doubt the Queen will make such an effort to defend such an unimportant partner as the Bassetts. I think Cam Elf-Na has the power to take on almost anyone in Free Space now. No one is really safe. Not Sin 4, not Itheamh, not the Kartanians. It would take the reunification of all Oghar Kingdoms to stop him and that won't happen even if the Galaxy turns its spin; and if he moves across into Union Space he will cut a swath of destruction before the Union can stop him. In any case this area of space is soon to hot for any individual space ship."

With those words the Oghar Captain left.

Swift said."I am heading for Sin 4 and two ships are safer than one, if you heading that direction Velvet, we could fly together."

I nodded. "As a matter of fact, I am going that way too. So yes it might be a good idea. I am leaving within the hour as well."

Chapter 5: Deep Space

Chapter 3 – Deep Space

Har-H intercepted me right at the Air lock after returning to the ship and said. "We got the crew of Swift squared away, sixty one are now peacefully frozen in Null time. "

I took my mask of and said. "Anything else I should know about?"

We walked to the IST and he said. "No not really but I listened to your audio feed from the Captain's table and I heard what Crimson said about Cam Elf Na, and that kept me thinking and I don't even know what to think. It's just that I don't like it. Cam Elf Na is an agitator and if he really has 2000 Clans united under one command that is bad." I put my hand on his shoulder. "We are still within GalNet Range. Call your father, tell him about it, and I will tell the Admiral the same."

He smiled and said. "I' do that as soon as possible."

"You do that now, the earlier the better."

-""-

I just stepped of the IST and onto the bridge as the Battle Station Signal was given. Mao who held the Con said. "The Dai, they are here!"

We switched seats. "Shaka get us away from that base right away." I raised my seat into Battle View and Mao gave me a situation report. "At least 5 Clans, the KELPIES have reported 1500 Dai Signatures dropping out of Quasi. There are Six hundred Be-Tha-Ra Dai Battle Ships but no Dai Mothers, strangely enough. Scans Show weapons charged and there are more dropping by the moment. Wait those aren't Dai Signatures, those are Togar Units, big Ones!

About 30 light minutes behind the Dai a massive Togar Fleet had appeared and from the Quasi Space tremors picked up by our sensors more were on the way.

On the standard channels was pure chaos.

Mao said calmly. "The Dai will reach the system in less than 30 minutes. They are launching fighters."

Shaka had maneuvered us free of the Base and both the Crimson Curse and the Swift Profit also moved away from the mooring structure.

"Shaka get us out of here, Narth coordinate with Krabbel. I don't want to lose the Swift Profit in all of this."

Both the Swift Profit and the Crimson Curse were aiming for open space and strained their engines to the max.

As I turned to look back and focused on the Asteroid base, I saw hundreds of gun turrets appear from hidden shafts and Karthanian Gnorr Fighters launched by the dozen from tunnel like openings.

"SHIP, Tactical Assessment."

SHIP responded. "The Dai and the Togar are technically almost en par, with a slight lead by the Dai especially in fighter technology. However it appears the Togar committed an enormous fleet, outnumbering the Dai 60 to one. Conclusion by tactical numbers is a win for the Togar but with heavy losses on both sides."

Narth responded. "We have a Togar Battle Cruiser I pursuit. We will be in his weapon range before we can traverse into Quasi Space. He accelerates faster than our simulated Karthanian even with old Isah pods could possibly go."

Mao, load the Sniper Cannon with a micro load and prepare to target their engine room. Shaka increase acceleration by three percent.

The first Togar Units were engaged by the Dai Rear Guard and our energy sensors detected heavy weapon fire.

Har-Hi said. "Captain if we were a real Karthanian even with Old Isah Pods we could maintain such a burst of speed maybe 10 seconds with all engines way past red line. The Togar is still gaining.

Two minutes to Threshold speed and 1 minute before they are in weapon range." Eli said. "The Togar are hailing everyone on all of their frequencies."

"Put it on."

"This is Princess Legrha, First Daughter of the Queen of Togr. High Commandrix of all Togar forces. The Shattered System is under Togar protection and we will fight to the last ship and Warrior. Be advised that the entire Togar Force is alerted and on its way. Dai Than have been tolerated by us and we did not seek conflict with you. However engage in any hostility against any target inside that system and Togar will not rest until all Dai are eliminated. Disengage and leave and we will ignore the first exchanges and let you pass. Disregard and there will be no quarter given. We furthermore demand to search all Vessels leaving that system."

The Tigershark was hit by the first volley of FTL beams, obliterating our simulated Karthanian Aft shields. Turning on our real shields would give away our real origin.

"Mao, fire!"

100 Grams of zero stasis stabilized Anti Matter contained in a one kilo bomb sphere was trans-dimensionally transported into the engine room of the pursuing Togar Vessel at the point of annihilation.

The Karthanian aft exploded and simultaneously lost its ISAH field, the entire vessel was utterly and instantly destroyed.

Before us the Swift Profit slipped into Quasi Space and we were right behind.

-""-

I wondered what outcome the space battle behind us would take and why the Togar were willing to commit such assets to defend a seemingly unimportant star system used only by a handful of miners and pirates. The same held true for the massive commitment of the Dai. One single Clan would have been more than enough to raid such a small star system without any planets. I was looking over the detail scans of our Kelpies but could not find anything out of the ordinary that would explain such efforts. I sighed and was about to ask Elfi to get me in contact with Admiral McElligott when she said. "Captain, the Swift Profit has dropped out of Quasi and is hailing us."

Shea tossed me my mask and Har-Hi helped me close it behind my head. He said. "I imagine he taxed his engines past red line to get out of there and now has some sort of malfunction."

I tugged on my mask to straighten it and said. "I actually expected that call of his, just not so soon."

Har-Hi first gave me a questioning look and then smiled and nodded. "Of course..."

"Let's find out what he wants from us."

Elfi signaled me that the Bridge image was adjusted and put the Pirate on screen. He said. "That is what I call a close call indeed and thankfully that Togar lost containment before he could reach us,"

"Why are we stopping here? Ten light years away from a space battle is still a tad too close for my taste."

"I agree with you, Velvet, I would love to be halfway to Sin 4 by now, but my Intermixer was taxed beyond its specifications due to our hasty departure and I don't want to lose containment while going Trans light. You would not be able to spare shield material and a few Magno Coils so I can repair mine? Spare parts are really hard to find in deep space."

"Yes as a matter of fact, I do. Come along side and I extend a flexi tunnel so we can get the thing fixed. Spare parts aren't cheap however and I take 20,000 Polos now or half of your next haul." He grinned all over his face. "We have a deal, Velvet."

After he disconnected I said. "Hans prepare your marines for Boarding action, Mao as soon as he drops shields and comes along side, full Tech stop and Paralysator and if you detect any energy sources after that, you are authorized to engage with Picto Loads."

Narth said. "Does it come to a surprise to you when I tell you that he has very similar plans and that he is planing to raid us?"

"No, not at all, I expect to find his engine in good working order too."

Har-Hi explained further. "He is a pirate and he has seen the chest of Polos. I am certain he was planning something the second he suggested to fly together."

Shea said. "It looks you two already think like real pirates and I suppose you two will lead the raid again, right?"

Har-Hi and I were almost at the IST and he said. "You know she does have a point. Technically and by Fleet rules you should stay aboard. I am so sorry Captain but you got to stay this time."

Shea said. "Technically and by fleet rules that holds true for the XO as well, but it looks like Tech Stop and Paralysators worked this time. Our sensors confirm that eighty five percent of all detected life forms show severely reduced electro neuro activity and 88 percent of all active energy producing sources are inactive."

"Mao..."

"I am on it Captain."

I gestured to the XO seat. "After you, my faithful companion. I think we elected the wrong positions for ourselves."

Har-Hi made his best suffering facial expression and said with a deep sigh. "Yes indeed my Captain, yes indeed."

We watched as Hans performed a Boarding raid by the book. After they had breached the Pirate ship they found a bunch of heavy armed pirates unconscious right behind their main airlock. They all wore tough looking but inadequate Karthanian Battle Armor Space Suits, good enough to raid a civilian craft or a similar Tech Level but not the most advanced Union Shi. There was severe damage in where Mao's Nano loads had destroyed someone in a better shielded suit.

I got up, it, I could not sit still, I could not sit down at the moment and I said, "Hans, what are those strange green looking Containers next to the Air lock?"

It was Sobody who said. "Better leave them alone Captain, those are Bethler Plague Eggs. A sinister Bio agent. I am sure this is how he planned to subdue us."

"A biological weapon against sealed bulkheads?" I asked

It eats most metals; it eats it fast and is very hard to kill and to get rid of unless you got the Anti-Agent. It also kills most life forms by attacking every trace of metal including the iron in your blood."

I shuddered involuntary and said. "Shea are our guys in danger?"

"They are wearing our latest battle suits and are shielded and I doubt any microbic life form could eat molecular compacted Ultronit or pass through ParaDim Shields, but I have no data to strengthen my hypothesis into a theory or even a statement. I think I should go over there and do more detailed scans and then secure at least one of these Eggs for further analysis. I am a good science officer and will take all necessary precautions."

Sobody got up. "I volunteer to go along. I remember the Bethler well."

I knew she was right. She was the best choice to make sure the Bio Agent hasn't leaked and find a way to secure a sample. "Alright, Shea go and do your thing and take our Golden along."

To Sobody I said. "Tell her everything you know about that stuff and then let us find out why a third grade Pirate has something like that and knows how to use it."

-""-

Hans and his marines had secured the Pirate Ship, but so far they had not found Swift himself. Shea and Sobody working with a bunch of scanners and Laboratory equipment on the greenish bulb shaped, man sized containers.

Circuit was also aboard and trying to overwrite the lock out codes of Swifts computronics.

Sobody explained that the Bethler were an advanced civilization somewhere in the Downward sector, famous for their bio weapons and in a civil war or perhaps an industrial accident one of their weapons escaped and wiped the Bethler out. That happened, according to Sobody about 6,000 years ago. He also said that others scavenged the ruins of the Bethler society and took whatever they could and that Bethler Bio agents were rare but not unknown traded items on his Bazaars and that he did not find it strange that a Pirate would have a load of these.

Shea was in her element and quite excited.

I said to Hans. "Are you sure Swift is not aboard?"

"We scanned the vessel, and I am doing a second sweep right now, Mao killed four men with his Micro loads, there isn't much left of them. Maybe he was one of those."

Narth said. "No Captain he is still alive, I can sense him." His voice changed and he said with concern. "Captain, a Togar Womptar Battle Cruiser has just dropped out of Quasi and they are under shields and weapons charged.

Elfi said. "They are hailing us."

"Alright, SHIP sound Battle stations. Mao, stand by on shields but don't raise them yet. Elfi put them on."

A magnificent strong looking Cat Warrior became visible and he growled. "Pirate you are identified as one of the ships that left Brhama Port. We demand that you stand down and hand over the Togar criminal fugitive we know is in your possession. Do that and we will consider to let you live. Do it not and we will have no mercy."

"I have no Togar Criminals aboard; I sold that Cat to Crimson Curse."

"We will search your vessel now."

"I don't let just anyone come aboard."

"You have no choice; your little Freighter has sharp claws but not enough to prevent your doom. Your Froth Casters do not have the range."

I cut him off.

"Narth turn on our real sensors and check if he is alone, Mao full Giga Load as soon as I give the signal"

Our real sensors reached light years beyond the ones a Karthanian Freighter would have and also showed Quasi Space traffic. There were quite a few signals both Karthanian and Dai but only one Dai Signal was coming this way as well.

Narth said. "He is about to call for back up and tell his Superiors about us." "Mao, fire!"

The Giga Load Translocator bomb detonated right in the Command Center of the Karthanian Ship engulfing it in a sun like sphere of bright expanding energies. I was well aware that this explosion would show on every sensor in the region and that we had not much time.

"Narth did he send his message?"

"No, he just started sending his ID sequence and their communication systems are much slower than ours and it will take a few hours before it is received., but two long range Dai Scanner contacts and three Togar have changed course and they will be here in less than 20 minutes." "Shea, quick give me summary." "We can safely contain the Eggs and we can decontaminate against them. No organism has been set free."

"Alright bring one aboard and lock it away as fast as possible. Hans bring the Prisoners aboard and hurry."

To Narth I said. "Swift, are you still sensing him?"

Narth did not respond for a moment and I thought he was probing for Swift. Narth then said. "I am sorry captain I got distracted, It should never happen to a Narth but the Togar and the..."

Narth, no worries it happens to the best of us. You are running Ops. You did find him, right?" "Yes but not much longer. He escaped in a small pod like device and is almost out of my psionic range. He is heading for that Star System."

"I didn't want to blame Narth, but I wondered how Swift could escape even in a space suit without using energy and being detected." Narth said. "He used a chemical propulsion device."

I got up and walked over and put my hand on his shoulder. "Narth, that you are my friend you know, as your Captain I tell you I could not have a better OPS officer and besides you shared your Hugavh with me remember and you told me that you also start to adopt traits of mine, you do know that I am human and have a whole load of imperfect traits."

He raised his head and I felt his mood improve. "Indeed, that is a quite logical explanation why I possibly could have missed something."

"Now go and help Shea. We need every hand to get out of here. If we keep using Translocators they get wise to the fact that we are not Pirates."

-""-

I was not willing to let Swift escape, while Narth had missed the initial launch of the little one man capsule, our sensors did not. The Capsule went trans-light but Narth and Shea went over the scanner reports and compared them with a similar escape device still found aboard the pirate ship. It had a maximum range of about 12 light years. There was only one system within range.

We managed to stow away seventy two surviving Pirates of the Swift Profit in stasis containers and were about to transfer the last pirates and the loot Sobody insisted on when a Dai ship dropped out of Quasi Space, followed moments later by two Togar units.

The Togar immediately fired upon the Dai Joth-Yi destroyer, only to receive a salvo of the Dai destroyer raking their shields with nuclear plasma

I felt as if there were needles in the upholstering of my command seat and I sat on its utmost edge, "Guys it is about time we take our leave. Shea, Narth how we are doing?"

Shea responded. "We are about to transfer the last four Disease Eggs."

Har-Hi got up and I nodded. "Yes go down there and make them move."

While he left I said to Shaka. "The second SHIP tells you were buttoned up, you hit that accelerator."

"Aye Captain."

Sobody came to the bridge. "Captain there is lots more loot, could we not..." "I am sorry, but I can't risk our ship and mission for a hold of pirate plunder."

Of course I was sweating blood and water as we had to keep the shields partially down. The simple Karthanian shields we had could not be extended over the pirate ship where crew still struggled to get the last things out.

The battle between the two Togar and the Dai was about to reach its climax. The Dai ship maneuvered better than the two Togar, and the Dai weapons did more damage, but the Togar had stronger shields and had more energy reserves. If the Togar would have worked together and coordinated their efforts the fight would have been over already.

SHIP said. "Everyone is back." Mao's fist hammered on the Shield control and said, "Simulated Shields up."

It was not a second to early as a sudden bolt of energy peppered our now raised shields. The Togar had not forgotten us, and all three were now within weapon range.

Even though we had to show the world that we had only Karthanian shields, they were fed and simulated by the Narth designed Janus projectors of our disguise and it would take a lot more than that to make our simulated shields buckle. I decided to let them worry why their blasts did not drain our shields as they should have.

Har-Hi came back and he frowned at the main viewer while Shaka was taking us to the maximum acceleration our disguise permitted.

The second Togar fired at us again and that gave the battered Dai an opening it did not waste and it hit the other Togar with a concentrated volley of all its main weapons, breaking the already strained shields of that Togar Destroyer. A secondary onslaught of Dai weapon fire sliced through the tough Togar mineral foamed composite armor and sun bright beams of destruction perforated the Togar's Engineering section. That ship was one for!

Greenish plasma fire leaked a heartbeat later out of the still bright glowing holes the Dai weapons had left behind.

Har- Hi had his fist clenched and slammed it on his knee. "She'll go any second now."

We watched as s handful of escape pods detached from the doomed Togar ship, the rest of its crew didn't make it, the ship exploded violently.

The remaining Togar changed course and fired three Vagroorr Missile. Now these weren't Loki Torpedoes but the Togar were almost at par with the Kermac and out Tactical systems instructor aboard the Devi once said that 100 of these hitting simultaneously could ruin the day of a Union Battle ship.

One was intercepted by the Dai Gunners; one exploded with force in the Joth-Yi's shields and tore them down. The third was on our tail .We were committed to Threshold speed, Mao fired the Nul Froth caster and destroyed it before it could reach our aft but to escape the graviton shock wave, Shaka had to maneuver and change course and that meant he had to interrupt threshold acceleration and commit the ship to a new run. In all this I realized what a gigantic difference just two Tech levels made. The Tigershark easily maneuvered at twenty times the speed and it would have taken us seconds and not minutes to threshold speed.

"Shaka stop acceleration and go to zero thrust, take us around as soon as they are past us. Mao target the Swift Profits and fire when in range."

Mao fired our simulated Nul Froth Casters and chaotic oscillating graviton waves pulled and pushed the matter of the Swift Profit in every conceivable direction, developing gravitational whirlpools and pulverizing the Swift Profits engineering and thus antimatter containment. The Swift Profit exploded.

The Dai was damaged and without shields but it still fired at the Togar. With its shields nearly gone the Togar finished of the Dai Than Destroyer, with another missile,

"Shea back on her console said. "The Togar won't go far either. Their old fashioned reactors are overheating and whoever isn't killed by the radiation will suffocate as their life support is no longer active."

I rubbed my hands. "Good news then, Krabbel plot a course to that star system Swift escaped."

Elfi reported. "Captain, the Togar hailing us!"

I signaled her to put them on.

A singed Togar Commander appeared, his bridge was damaged and I could see the distinctive flicker of open fire in the smoke filled background. The Togar coughed. "Pirate, I am Roghor, commanding the Vighrr, I should command you know to stop your engines and tell you I will board you, but we are about to lose life support and my engineers are dead so I don't know if we are to loose containment.

I appeal to you from Ship commander to ship commander to give me the honor of death and to take my surviving crew to Kaliment, don't sell them as slaves; my Lead Cats will make sure you receive a reward on Kaliment."

Shea said. "Circuit thinks they have about 12 minutes before Containment goes."

They were Togar, I didn't like Togar. The less of these human eating cats the better, but he was a Captain knowing his doom was imminent and he asked me to help his crew.

"Commander Roghor, you have about ten minutes before your containment fails. Tell your crew to suit up and evacuate. I give you my word I will not sell you as slaves, but treat your wounded and take you to Kaliment. You have my word on that. You too must leave, Commander!"

"I will give the order Pirate."

"Any tricks or subterfuge and you will wish we were slavers!"

"No tricks Pirate." Narth said. "There are survivors aboard the Dai wreck as well, four have survived but are injured." I threw my hands in the air. " Har-Hi, take a few marines and see if you can get them. Hans take a team and collect the cats and make sure they are unarmed and kept in one of the empty hangars."

Har-Hi gave me a thankful look before he left.

-""-

We spend much longer drifting in space than I hoped. We ended up collecting the few Escape pods of the first Togar as well. The hangar across our Pirate Den was the last room we had left and it was now filled with 200 tech stripped Togar cats. Not all of them, so Narth told me were happy about the Commander's decision to accept help, but Hans and his marines had stripped them one by one and even the formidable warrior cats were quite terrified as they saw Hans and TheOther.

Har-Hi had no problems evacuating the Dai, they were more dead than alive and in no shape to fight or resist.

I went down to see if the Togar Commander made it and stepped through the force field curtain that was transparent for crew of my ship only and also projected the image of an old Karthanian ship corridor as I stepped onto the Togar filled Starboard Hangar B. Most of them sat on the floor and one of my Pertharian marines in pirate costume of course, was serving soup or something similar in plastic cups while a Takkian pushed a hover cart with the bowl and more cups behind him.

The Pertharian despite his Pirate Costume could not switch of being a Marine and as he saw me went into attention. "Captain Black Velvet on deck." I cringed and wondered just how thin our disguise was at that point and I was certain it would take little to convince even the densest Togar that we weren't really pirates.

TheOther immediately moved from his spot next to the door like tremendous shadow behind me.

It was a reassuring feeling to have a real Y'All warrior watching my back. Not that I felt threatened but I hated Togar and now I was in a closed room with a lot of them. While they weren't armed, they still had claws and Fangsnapper like jaws filled with dagger like teeth.

One of them got up and even though he had nothing on but his own fur, he wore his rank like an invisible aura and I knew he was Roghor the Commander, that he had singed fur was not a distinguishing feature as it appeared many of them had burn injuries. He was at least two heads taller than me and covered with short deep golden fur, except around his muscular neck and all the way to his round ears where it was dark brown and longer, surrounding his wild looking face almost like a halo. He had a broad triangular nose and the sided of his muzzle were grey. His eyes were bright yellow and his tail was thick and whisked the air in a somewhat nervous and almost independent fashion. It reminded me of my costume I wore as was with Deepa.

He crossed his broad paw like hands before his muzzle and bowed slightly then he took his long tail with one hand and held it like that. "It is not common for my kind to ask for help and now that I live I will face death by the hands of my superiors once we reach Kaliment, but it is a price we pay when we take command, is that something a pirate can understand?"

I had to admit he kept surprising me and why would such a Commander only command a Destroyer and not a battle ship. Instead of answering his question I said, "I have seen a ship full of human body parts not so long ago, Togar. I haven't forgotten this and I most likely won't ever forget that horror. I know some of your warriors right now don't feel very thankful or cooperative, so there won't be a zero tolerance on my side, If one of your cats even so much as twitched a wrong muscle and makes some sort of trouble, I space the lot of you."

I was unable to read his face or sense his emotions out of his voice as it sounded like an angry growl no matter what he said. "You will be rewarded for your decision on Kaliment; you will receive Polonium which will make this a profitable venue."

"I came to find out why half the Togar fleet came to defend an Asteroid base, what is so valuable in that system?" I looked him straight in to the eyes even if I had to look up to do so. "You wouldn't know anything about that?"

He said very loud. "No pirate I am not in the habit of sharing any Togar reasons with you!" He really tried to whisper as he growled silently." My life is over no matter what happens, but I am not a traitor. However I am willing to share with you whatever I know that is not classified, but I cannot do so right here, there are those who have ears and eyes for others than the fleet."

I said as loud as him, well almost as loud. "Then I have no use for you!"

I turned and said to TheOther. "Paralyze the whole bunch, stack them in Stasis boxes if we have enough left, but keep them asleep until we know what to do with them. Then bring that Commander into the Den, but have Cateria and Shea check him out for any real or artificial bugs or any other surprises." TheOther declined his entire upper body as he had no neck to mimic the human nod. "Aye Captain!"

-"

I sat in my ready room and had a secure connection to Admiral McElligott and I finished my report saying. "We ran out of Stasis boxes as I got a crew of Togar warriors and even a few Dai. I have the crews of the Mighty Nine and most of Swift's crew all in security stasis and we are on our way to a system called Ya in the catalogs. No Survey data other than some old telemetric data. We are certain Swift went that way as his escape pod could not have made it much further."

McElligott leaned back in his chair and in doing so allowed the visual sensors of his GalNet terminal pick up more of his office.

It was just another office, nothing elaborate or special as I somehow expected the office of the Admiral of the Fleet to look like.

There were a few shelves with books, the old kind. There was a strange triangular brass object on his desk and a few PDD's strewn around and a painting of surfacing submarine, in a stormy sea behind him, with a gilded elaborate frame around it.

He noticed me looking and said. "That is a painting of the Agamemnon, Captain Eric. It was my first command and a long time ago."

He got up and brushed over the frame. "She was a hunter killer and I wasn't always a desk jockey you know." He then pointed to the brass object and explained. "This is a Sextant; it is a nautical instrument I had to learn to use when I was a Midshipman in his majesties Navy. King William that is; May he rest in Peace."

He clasped his hands to his back and slowly paced a few steps to the right and left. He was clearly contemplating things and then he said. "As for the business at hand, I commend you to lend a hand to others in distress. It is a Union thing to do, and to adhere to higher morals and standards is something we always try to do. I comment you for the way you did it too."

He then tabbed one of his PDD's that he had on his desk. "Your information on Cam Elf-Na confirms other Intel reports and we are moving assets in the area to respond quickly if he decides to cross into Union Space. "

He kept looking at the PDD. "We are as puzzled as you are what the deal is with that shattered system. If you can find out and add that mystery to your tasks, then we would be grateful. Why two nations commit to such efforts is indeed a paramount question to answer."

"Aye Sir, I am going to interview the Togar Commander later on and let him point out the intelligence officers in his crew for me. Maybe Narth or Cateria can find what they know."

He looked up. "If your Narth can't then no one can. So keep me posted on that and do question the Dai as well. No sense of waiting the opportunity."

A multi legged Centipede being in black uniform and Commander rank came into the view pick up and McElligott said. "Go right ahead Commander Kiqul."

"The thirteenth, the seventh and the sixth fleet report fully operational and Battle Ready Alert Mode. We moved assets of the nineteenth to bring up the Yellow and Blue Battle Clusters up to full operational strength."

McElligott thanked the Kilonian Commander and continued to talk to me. "Our Bellebee Analysts just got on your long ranger scanner and KELPIE logs and we will go over them with a fine tooth comb.

As of now we don't even have working theories as why the Togar and the Dai committed such massive forces over a seemingly unimportant Pirate nest. As you just witnessed we are moving assets in the region to be able to react fast if the need arises.

That Cam Elf Na has so many clans united is cause for concern and we all agree that he will do something with his new found power, but I am talking to Har-Hi's father right and see what he recommends what to expect."

"I am sure Har-Hi will be glad to hear his father is consulted by you."

McElligott smiled. "Kar-Hi is more than an advisor, he became a good friend and his advice is sound and tempered with wisdom and experience. "

The old admiral grinned and said. "What our mutual other friend, you know who recommends, I am sure you can guess."

"If you talk about Admiral Stahl, Sir, I would not be able to guess on his tactical and strategic decisions."

Elligott frowned. "Why is it, everyone worships that prickly old Marine? " He sighed and then asked. "Tell me what you would do if you were me and faced with a possible Dai Incursion?"

I shrugged. "I am barely getting used to be in command of a ship, Sir."

"Just humor me."

"Well I would issue a sector alert, move ten or fifteen Battle groups in the area and hide them in nearby star systems. Then I triple Gazelle and Specter patrols all along the border. Maybe have the Corps of Engineers beef up our outposts and every floating rock with Exo Load Cannons and as much Loki Batteries as possible.

I make sure the Devi and the first fleet is in the region as well and she is seen by as many civilian border crossers as possible. Oh and certainly a Battle group of Attikan Fast Battle ships to run patrol patterns between the Outposts response would be a good choice." I pulled up a sector map and said. "Then I let them come, close the back door and make sure there won't be any left to have similar ideas in the future."

The old man put his hand before his mouth and giggled then wiped a tear out of his eyes and said. "Well other than the fact that he is a few thousand years older than you and that you now look quite delectable and are much easier on the eye than his chisel face there isn't all that much difference in your and his suggestions. What you just said was, in essence what he just told me."

I was certain I had grown a few centimeters in my seat, as deep pride filled my chest. "Sir, there is no greater praise you could have given. I would not dare to compare myself with Admiral Stahl, but if you see some similarities between him and me, Sir. Then I think I might be on the right track to become a real Captain."

The eternal Solider walked into the visual pick up, most likely being there the entire time and he said. "You certainly are, Son."

He surrounded McElligott's desk and opened a drawer unasked, retrieving a glass bottle with a golden liquid and two glasses. "I don't like him much, that Kilt wearing turn coat but I do love his Whiskey."

McElligott grunted something about rude marines and whiskey thieves and said to me. "Go and get Swift if you can., and stay in that System until the USS Shadowrunner can catch up with you. She will bring you more supplies and take the prisoners. Do you want us to take the Togar of your hands or do you want to swing by Kaliment before you head for Sin 4"

"I think I take them there myself, I still need to add to my reputation and need to be seen, besides maybe we hear something about that abducted Nul Prince there."

McElligott poured himself a glass of whiskey as well and snorted. "The Intel you gathered on the Nul situation are the most serious news .Cooperation between Nul and Kermac would not be a good thing.

We had no idea how close we are to an all-out war. We had no other Intel on this so far."

Stahl put the whiskey down. "You sure have your plate full son but if there is a break in events we I think we can give you guys a break and you come home to Richter Base and take that vacation we promised."

-""-

Chapter 6: Planet Yo

Chapter 4: Planet Yo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"How about your daughter?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I think it is more than a rumor."

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

"The back door?"

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

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

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

"Do you know where it terminates?"

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

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

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

"Why?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-""-

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Energies?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Any other life or thoughts?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Krabbel!"

"Oh and I need a Robot or two and…"

"KRABBEL!" Yes Captain?"

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

He actually snapped in attention. "Yes Captain."

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

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

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

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

"Thank you."

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

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

"I stay if you object of course."

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

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

"Weren't you terrified of those?"

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

Narth said. "I qualified for Orbital assault."

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

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

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

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

"Is there something wrong?"

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

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

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

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

"-"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hans whispered. "Great Evil!"



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Is he still alive?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Aye Captain."

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

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

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

Chapter 7: PID-Mark 12

Something had exploded right between us.

I could taste my own blood and all I had was a strong whistling sound. Even though I was certain my eyes were open I could see nothing."

Then everything stopped and I sank into oblivion.

That was the last thing I remembered and now I regained consciousness, a gentle voice said into my ear. "Suit integrity restored, third degree burns, concussion and eye injuries treated, Med-Evac recommended.

I opened my eyes and looked around. "I was at the bottom of a new crater."

"More projectiles inbound." the voice said.

"Shield?" "Shields at 100%. System Damage from initial.."

A tremendous second explosion hit me and while the shields held, the kinetic energies of the blast threw me, dirt and pulverized rock in a cloud of fire far into the air.

"Full Battle Mode!" While the Suit went battle active I switched to hover mode. More explosions shattered the ground all around us.

"Battle Mode active. Threat analysis : Buried explosive proximity mines and chemically propelled artillery fire."

"Roll Call!" My command called up a retina overlay with the location and status of my away team. "Fective reporting"

"Corporal Jost reporting."

"TheOther, no injuries."

I saw Har-Hi's symbol but he did not report. His suit reported no damage to the suit, but his Auto Doc reported serious Injuries, serious enough for the suit to put him in stasis.

"Suit evacuate to the ship!" The barrage of artillery fire kept coming and whatever it was taxed our shields. The fire came from three locations in the mountains surrounding us. My suit reported. "Stage accelerated Plutonium Mass projectiles and Nuclear war heads, shields at 40 percent."

We were able to evade direct hits easily now and we could retreat of course but retreat to me was like admitting defeat. My optics magnified at least a dozen heavy fortified gray bunker like constructs in the side of the mountains with big cannon barrels. We could of course assault them and use our Nano Load TL Cannons of our suits, but I had about enough and was worried and angry. "Captain to Tactical, target the coordinates my Suit sends you, lay a full kilo load in each of those bunkers." "Aye Captain." "Captain to landing detail re-group."

I transmitted coordinates I had selected via dedicated glance and eye blink confirmation on a tactical map overlay while our suits accelerated as fast as our systems permitted. A dozen Anti Matter bombs detonated a few heart beats later in the local mountain range and changed the skyline of that range forever. The sun like heat melted rock, artillery positions and whatever else was there and turned it into molecular plasma gas and torrents of molten magma. Even though we had retreated almost 100 kilometers, the shock reached us and made our pulse engines whine in protest as they tried to keep station. Our primary shields dropped to 10 percent after ash, radiation and a hail storm of rocks and dirt pelted us and everything else in side.

Then there was silence.

"SHIP did Har-Hi arrive?"

"Cateria here, we retrieved the XO and he will be fine. The initial shock,of an explosion broke his neck, but the suit kept him alive. He is in the ReGen tank and angry that I won't let him out."

"That was a close call." To close to my taste and completely my fault. Neither him nor I would have been injured if I had kept my helmet close and paid more attention.

While I was angry at myself for overconfidence and landing on an unexplored world without more caution and almost loosing Har-Hi, despite the state of the art hardware,I had to put that into the back of my mind and take care of the current situation. "SHIP dispatch ten marines full Surface Assault gear and five Cerberus to my location."

"Acknowledged Captain."

"Lt. Fective, check our sensor logs and see why our sensors did not pick up whatever and whoever attacked us." "Already on it Captain. The technology used is Tech Level Two at best, the charges were triggered by wired cables, not transmitted signals. The Cannons firing at us worked on the same principle as that antique firearm of yours, projectiles accelerated by rapid oxidization." "Alright, reset Shields and be on guard. We are going to get at the bottom of this."

-""-

Krabbel and it's team had entered the alien orbital construct through a mechanical door they had found at its bottom end and now found themselves in a small chamber like room, its function quite clear. It was a two door airlock.

Shea was looking at a sign posted to a set of control devices and said. "It is no coincidence, Mao. This is German writing and it gives instructions as how to operate this Air lock."

Hans walked past them and started to push a lever and crank on a wheel like control. Dials flickered and started to light up in a weak yellowish light. Several light elements at the ceiling became active.

Krabbel asked. "Are you certain you know what you are doing?"

Hans responded with an excited voice. "Yes the instructions are perhaps the clearest and most detailed instructions I have read since I left my home. This is our native language after all. It not only tells you what to do but also what not to do."

Shea said. "Whoever these Germans were they sure like the word 'verboten'."

Mao glanced over Shea's shoulder. "My suit computronic has downloaded the language and I now get retina overlays with the translation of all these words. Those dials and gauges are analog, The last time I saw such dials was aboard the White Puff."

Shea said looking at her scanner. "Energy output of the Atomic pile has increased by 80 percent and the atmosphere pumped in here is of the exact air composition from Earth." She turned to Mao. "What ship of the Union uses such dials?"

"Steam powered ships on my home planet,, one of them is called the White Puff."

One of the scientists gasped behind his helmet. "Steam powered ships on a Union World?"

Krabbel intervened. "Maybe we can discuss that later and find out why there is something from Earth around a planet in Freespace."

Shea added. "Something that appears Pre Astro and should not be here at all."

Mao had kept an eye on the dials and then checked his suit sensor read out and pulled on a red painted lever.

The inner door swung open, allowing them access to the rest of the construct."Why don't we go and find out?"

-""-

I hovered over the rubble and debris our Translocator barrage had created and reduced the height of several mountain peaks by a substantial margin. TheOther, a Cerberus robot and two marines were below me removing a house sized boulder and in doing so revealing a concrete tunnel leading deeper into the mountain.

"SHIP, we are going into the mountain. We maintain contact. If we fail to report tell Har-Hi to inform the Admiral first before he does anything else." "Aye Captain." TheOther and Fective stepped into my way as I was about to enter the tunnel and Fective said. "Captain, we should go first and take point."

"If there is anything down there that is able to overwhelm an Atlas suit under full shields, it makes no difference who's wearing it, Attikan, human or a Y'All."

"The difference is, you are the Captain."

"I won't be taking things lightly, I learned my lesson. Now let's go!" The concrete corridor was about 20 meters in diameters and it was leading at a 15 degree angle into the mountain. We passed several massive blast doors that had been crushed to rubble by the TL loads but the further we we went the less damage was apparent. After about six kilometers we reached a junction leading to the left and right and a closed blast door before us prevented us from going further. I split the Marines in two groups and sent them into each direction while I made the rest wait before the blast door.

As I suspected the the Marines came back telling me that the corridors branching of lead back up to different artillery positions and all were destroyed.

The blast door on front of us was made of steel and concrete and from the looks of it several meters thick.

"No sense of delaying it, whatever answers we seek are further down. Fective set charges .I doubt they will open the door to a friendly knock."

-""-

Shea said. "No artificial gravitation but some sort of life support system has kicked in. The temperate is rising."

They went down a narrow corridor single file and then reached the bottom region where the barrel type extension was attached to the square section of this space station. There were twelve pipes bundled in a cluster filling the larger pipe.

The side was a crane arm and a capsule like contraption hung at its lower end. The Capsule was clearly designed to be fit into one of the pipes.

At first it did have the appearance of a projectile but as Shea examined the capsule closer. She noticed a transparent view port. Inside the capsule, on a stretcher like bed lay a mummified human body.

She recoiled and looked around in the large chamber looking at the exposed equipment, noticed stacks of the same capsules and she said. "I know what this is, it is a Space train receiver station."

Krabbel, examining another capsule said. "But space trains are much bigger and there isn't anything like that in the Orbit around Earth, or is there?"

One of the scientists said. "I am from the Sol System, and no there isn't anything like this now..." He stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked at something and said. "but it appears there was something like that around the orbit of Mars in 1944. He pointed at a soft glowing read out ."Schwarz Licht Transport von Mars erhalten October 12th translates into Black Light transport received and the date on this readout suggests that happened 3076 years ago."

Krabbel floated through the open door of an attached control room and looked over a dizzying array of control elements said. "But that was long before the Ascent and Space train technology is a recent development."

Shea said, "No other space faring society has ever developed anything comparable and Space Train technology is controlled by SII." She paused. "the man who adopted me, Rex Schwartz is from Earth and like Stahl and the others he is an immortal."

Mao wiped over the view port of another capsule and said. "Schwarz licht, Mr. Schwartz sounds pretty much alike to me,"

Krabbel, still in the Control chamber turned to leave the control booth, one of his legs brushed over a lever, and the controls lit up, red and green lights started flashing.

Shea's suit reacted fast and reported with urgency."Rapid built up of trans spatial energies. Zero Point Gravitation.."

-""-

SHIP was as proud as a AI could be, Her Captain trusted the machine with the Conn. It was a Command function and no AI (except of course X101's ) had ever been allowed in such a position. But then then Lt. Har-Hi was right, things were done a little different on the Tigershark.

She had no problem monitoring all sensors, the communication and regulation ten thousand functions and adjustments all across the ship, every second and still only use twenty percent of her resources. Yet things changed very fast. Her sensors picked up a rapid built up of tremendous energies from the ancient device. Energies of trans dimensional character, energies akin to the well regulated and tuned TransDim shields but in a truly chaotic state. While she raised alarms, Circuit called up from engineering. "What is going on? Something is interfering with our TransDim tab."

"Unable to answer your question with certainty. Do you want to take Command?"

"No SHIP . I stay down here, inform the Captain. Where is Narth?"

"Lt. Narth disappeared. I assume he went over to help the others."

-""-

The demolition charges placed by my Marines blew the massive door with surgical precision out of it s frame and reduced it to rubble. We were just about to enter as SHIP called, "Captain, we lost all contact to Krabbel's team. The alien contraption is active now and under a shield I can only describe as both primitive and highly advanced at the same time. Trans dimensional in character and opaque to sensors and communications. Lt. Narth disappeared right afterward."

"Alright, SHIP you stay in command. Have Circuit take Ops and analyze it. I want a threat analysis from him in 10 minutes. Have the rest of the Marines and all Robots stand by for an assault. As soon as Har-Hi is fit for duty let me know. We will remain here, this all connects somehow and I think we might find the answer down here,"

"Aye Captain." I was dead worried, and I knew I made a few bad decisions,the entire situation escalated way beyond anything I expected. Shea, Krabbel, Hans and the others were in danger or perhaps even dead, my XO had a broken neck and I was dirt side instead on my bridge, but this was not the time for self reflection. "Listen up, we need to speed things up." I waved to one of my marines." Deploy a drone to map the corridor ahead of us, and launch two Harbringer, right after it."

"Aye Captain. Mapper and Harbringers deployed." Harbringers were highly intelligent personal missiles that could linger for hours and attack with needle focused fusion explosions.

"Let's go!"

I keyed my suit flight controls to the Mapper drone and we flew fast down the shaft of concrete.

All weapon systems armed, I was ready to blast the planet apart.

The drone ahead of us was smaller than a pin head and cloaked. It reported movement.

The last time I barreled down a shaft like this I found an army of stone golem and a living mountain. What would we find this time?

My battle tronic snarled. "Threat analysis. Opponents detected, twelve humanoids in battle armor consistent with Tech Level 8 or higher. Drone detected and neutralized." "Harbringers engage. Marines use the last data of the drone and engage the targets with Miro Loads!"

The corridor deep down was painted with the sun bright flashes of Antimatter micro loads. I too slaved my TL on the Battle Tronic."

I didn't stop, I accelerated." "Incoming TKU fire. Primary shields down to 80 percent."

I had reached a large Cavern defended by men in black battle armor, while the units looked nothing like any suit I knew. I was almost certain it was Union tech. The TKUs they held were without question Union.

Their suits had no logos other than Union standard numbers. At this moment I did not care, I placed Micro loads as fast as I could. Their suits surrounded by purple shimmering shields, the signature of ParaDim. They were good and equipped like us, but I had Marines with me and a Y'All. My shields were down to the last layer and according to my Battle System I had about 20% left. Terran TKUs were a terrible weapon even against the fine shields we had, but right now I didn't care. I was furious and I felt a grim satisfaction as my Chain sword whined in a high pitch as it tore through the helmet material of the opponent I had just engaged in hand to hand combat.

TheOther was on my right and ripped battle suited man apart. Fective fought like a demon to my left. Right over my shoulder one of my marines fired precision shots.

Then out of thin air Hans appeared holding his TKU Gatling pouring devastating fire against the black Armors. Four of the enemies started to float and their suits exploded off their bodies. Narth was there as well.

I plunged the chain sword through the face plate of another, while my shield collapsed and a bolt melted parts of my left shoulder armor."Narth I want one alive. I want to question these bastards!"

"Yes Captain."

TheOther kicked and stomped at a man who was on the ground. whatever his suit armor was made off,it was not enough.

I screamed on the top of my lungs. "You pieces of Nubhir dung, who's next?"

I whirled around ,while checking my threat sensor read out, almost disappointed to see no red dots.

"Deploy more sensor drones.,Secure the exits and lets do a roll call."

Narth mental presence in me was as serious as he has ever been and he said. "I must bear sorrowful news, Captain. Shea,Mao and Krabbel are no longer with us." I pushed the implications as far as I could into the back of my mind. "We will deal with that later. Now we must secure this place and find out what it is all about. Who are these men, these are humans and the equipment is certainly not alien."

To Narth I said."The one you caught are still alive,right?" "I am afraid not, they were killed by a remote signal, before I could probe them deeper, but.." Fective saluted. "Captain, the drones have mapped the complex and there is something like a main chamber."

My throat felt constricted and I had to concentrate not to start crying. "Life signs?"

"One, Captain."

Of all things, my personal PDD beeped with an urgent, message coming over a civilian channel. At first I wanted to ignore it, but SHIPs voice came in via my helmet pick up."You might want to take that Captain."

I activated it and I heard Shea. "Captain, Lt. Schwartz, Krabbel, Mao and the rest except Hans are reporting in." How I managed to restrain myself I could not say but I said. "I am glad you called, Hans is alright. Narth can no longer feel you and why the civilian channel?"

"Captain we are drifting in orbit near planet Mars. I wanted to go over civilian channels to talk to you before we make our findings public."

"You are safe?"

"Yes we are." "Alright, can you call a System Taxi or something and go to Earth and give me time to figure all this out before we make a report, because I still don't know what we are up against, do you?"

"Not exactly, but I have a suspicion and will let you know as soon as I can substantiate more. We are heading for Earth and wait for your call." Before I could follow Fective I got another call, this time from Har-Hi."I am back, Captain."

"I am doing this by luck and by the seat of my pants and I want answers now. Har-Hi call Shea on her private PDD and make sure we got indeed everyone. If anything out there moves or builts up energies or whatever, destroy it." "Aye Captain."

Fective and TheOther took point while Narth was next to me and Hans and the rest brought up the rear.

We reached the main cavern, several metal columns, about one hundred meters tall, with greenish glowing oval windows, all heavily condensed from the inside with the vague shapes of human bodies darkening the greenish glow. Many of the windows were dark, many were lit and on the bottom of one column I estimated about sixty or seventy open columns. Just about the number of enemy combatants we had fought. On a central examining table like object struggled a naked man. He was tied down and I recognized Curtis Swift.

In the corner of the room I noticed modern shipping containers with TKUs and more battle suits. And I saw movement, a robotic machine on wheels rolled into the cavern from a door across the cavern and was hit by a dozen blaster beams, turning it to slack.

"Narth what are you making of this?"

"Part of the equipment is ancient looking cloning and Cryo stasis equipment and part looks like recently repaired and combined with Union equipment. Over there is a SII Gene Splicer Apparatus and the device it is attached to appears to be a specimen selector.

Hans said. "The old writing over there is the same old German we found at the Black Light transport cannon in orbit. I recognize the modern Union labels on that machine right here, but I am looking at something like a clip board with writing on it, I never seen before."

Narth turned to look and said, "Vrill, it is old Vrill writing."

One of my marines found a control room with panel controls for sensors,mountain artillery and the devices in space. Again there was this odd mix of old and new technology.

There were hundreds pieces of information to a strange puzzle and I desperately wanted to t see the whole picture.

I went over to Swift, who was guarded by Hans. "What do you know about all this? Don't even try to lie!"

Narth stepped next to me, wit glowing eyes. Swift looking miserable cursed. "You are not a pirate, this is a Narth."

"I am glad you noticed and if you know anything about the Narth then you better start talking or I let him turn you inside out, trust me he can do it"

"Screw you, Black Velvet or whoever you are. You are Union there is no doubt, probably even fleet. You have rules, they don't. Your Narth does not scare me."

Narth said with a gentle voice. "Please let me demonstrate to you that I am capable of scaring you."

Something utterly terrifying and disgusting happened next. Curtis Swift the pirate begun to scream like I never heard anyone scream. His right hand's skin started to peel away, and so did muscles and sinew!

I gasped. "What are you doing?"

"I begun to turn him inside out and I have not yet entirely envisioned how to do that, so I begun with his hand to..."

Curtis screamed and whimpered. "I don't know who they are for sure, but I think they are some sort of Union Mega Corporation. I was to deliver twenty Bethler Plaque Eggs to them."

His hand returned to normal and he panted tried to catch his breath. He glistened with sweat and Narth leaned forward. "Mr. Swift, may I ask if I was successful in scaring you?"

Curtis flinched back as Narth leaned forward, his eyes flickered, spittle drooled out of his mouth while he begged me. "Please keep him away from me, I tell you all I know."

I turned to Narth. "I think you succeeded, he's pretty scared."

Narth pointed his gloved hand at the man. "He has not answered my question and his last statement about me was quite clear that he was not..."

Curtis groaned. "Oh my God are you for real? Yes I am scared! Captain Velvet, dear Captain Velvet , mighty Captain Velvet, please hold this hooded monster away. I do anything."

Narth nodded. "Indeed Mr. Curtis I am for real and against unreal. I.."

I interrupted."We can discuss that later. Swift who are they and where are they? Why are you strapped to that table?"

I don't know who they are. They identified themselves as the Tenebrous Society, and I think they fled, after you blew half the mountain range away."

"Where did they go? We did not detect any ship leaving."

"No ship, there is some sort of device below this chamber that allows them to travel vast distances very fast and without a ship. That is why I steered my escape capsule to this place, I wanted to use it to get away from here."

"Leaving your First Mate behind. You are a piece of work."

Curtis pulled at his straps. "They are very secretive and warned me not to bring anyone else here. They strapped me to this table to punish me, leading you here. They were very upset to loose this place." Narth said with an urgent voice. "Captain I think there is some sort of self destruct device."

"Scan for it!"

Hans said. "There are many energy sources around us, Captain. Hard to tell which one is a bomb.

Narth pointed to the floor. "Below us. If I interpreted those signal intervals correctly it, we have an estimated 12 minutes."

I said ."Hans evacuate everyone back to the ship and take this piece of garbage with you."

"Captain, there is an active unknown device of destruction and we don't know when it will go off."

"You have your orders, Mr. Neugruber. If this is destroyed we never get real answers."

To Narth I said,. "Can you get me there?"

As it always was,the world changed as if someone changed a Virtu program and we stood in a cavern that was just as big as the one we had left.

The device that was resting on a metal arm in the middle of the room was not alien at all. It was a Union P Bomb, complete with Union Fleet markings!

I approached the bomb. It was in secure mode and on a timer.

"Weapon System engage verbal command interface."

"United Stars Weapon System PID-Mark 12, Verbal Command Interface online. Naval Personnel detected. This is an unsafe area as I initiating Core ignition in 6.6 minutes."

"Abort activation and go to standby. United Stars Navy Captain Olafson. Verify."

"Abort verified going to Standby!" A blaster shot of tremendous strength hit the bomb command panel inches away from my face. I owed my life to the fact that my suit was still sealed and closed.

Narth however was not wearing a battle suit and was showered with molten metal and plastic. His black shroud caught fire.

My suit had localized the source of the blast and returned fire,obliterating an automated weapon dome that had lowered from the ceiling.

The bomb said. "Abort command overwrite accepted. Ignition imminent.

