The one with the Zorgo Cave



I missed the Battle Armor greatly as I followed Nestor through the twilight of the coming night. The air was putrid and stank, almost as bad as the Enviro Tanks. I wore my black leather outfit, a tight leather mask and a cloak with hood. the Leather was lined with micro mesh, no animal or bladed weapon could do me harm. The personal force field generator on my belt was the last line of defense, it was currently off, not wanting to put all my cards on the table. Narth monitored my mind and could teleport me out of danger, so I was as safe as one could be in a situation like that. I still didn't feel too good, especially after Nestor warned me what kind of surprises could hide between the trash. The Village, he told me, was a Skaakh settlement in the middle of Trash Island , made of old shipping containers and crates. The Village Skaakh had organized armed patrols and guards to fend off the bigger, more aggressive vermin that made trash island such a dangerous place. Narth had dropped us off about half a click from that village, so we could reach the Village unobserved. I was sure there were eyes on the Tigershark ever since the Togar had broadcast their demands all over the system. While I made sure we broadcasted back on the same channels, there could be some who didn't hear all of it or didn't believe my story.

I knew I was walking on thin ice in regards of our mission and that exposure could lead to serious repercussions, all the way to open war.

I kept my hand on my blaster under the cape and wished I had added a breathing mask to my disguise. Nestor knew his way around and avoided nests of curling tentacles, well hidden at first and exploding to life if something came near. The air was filled with insects of various sizes. I held the hood closed with one hand while Nestor was almost unmolested.

Before we went he had had held up a dirty tub and explained."The Stik make this ointment and it keeps most of the nasty stingers away, not all of them but most. I politely refused the smelly paste he had lathered all over his exposed skin.

We finally made it, and after one more turn around mound of rotting plants and paper there was the village. I had rarely seen something more depressing. About twenty large shipping crates with plastic film roofs and dirty curtains stood in a rough circle around a large Standard freight container with an added lean-on out of wood and plastic planks. About a dozen fires burned and two meager, dirty looking men, one human the other some humanoid species I did not recognize, stood by the closest fire holding those primitive one shot projectile rifles. They grabbed those weapons but recognized Nestor and made surprised faces as they saw me. He exchanged a few words with them and simply pointed at the large container and they nodded.

We went into the lean on through a plastic curtain. Nestor took a spray bottle from a shelf and sprayed it all around us.

"It's to keep the bugs out as much as possible. Gothar doesn't like us dragging them in."

After that decontamination procedure we entered the actual container, there was artificial light from Lumi-Plates, shelves with knives and a dozen crude made rifles on one side. Barrels and boxes filled with metal pieces lined the other side. There was a crate with damaged ArtiGrav Coils next to a open sack filled to the brim with little metal disc, a tightly wound bundle of plastic film and a barrel full of E Boards, all damaged and worn. But right there were four tetragon shaped boxes with the same alien writing, filled with dark red fist size glass like spheres. There was a counter in the back that was a steel plank thrown over two barrels. Behind it sat a bird like, featherless creature with a large yellowish beak and small staring eyes. The creature was about man size and what went for wings had turned into arm like limbs with three fingered hands. He eyed us, especially me, with suspicious stares and then he said with a croaking voice.

"Nestor, Nestor my old friend, are you coming to settle your account? You still owe me six Copper Flops or merchandise of same value."

Nestor pointed at me and said.

"This woman I met on the Mainland wanted to talk to you. I told her you have plenty of ArtiGrav Units ."

The yellowish beak looked sharp and a little black tongue flickered between the half moon shaped beak halves. He said with an unfriendly accusatory tone,

"You had enough coppers to get a ride to the mainland and did not pay me first? Well we need to talk about that later."

The little speaker in my ear whispered. It was Har-Hi.

"The Old Merchant is back. He is now seeing what you see and will give you advice."

I was connected via a safe trans dim link to the ship and the tiny camera built into my mask transmitted sound and image.

Gothar the scrap dealer now turned to me and said,

"I usually don't do business with folks I don't know. It's a habit that has kept me in business for a long time."

Hearing Sobody's voice in my ear, I simply repeated what he said.

"I am sure Ms. Polo Coin will do for a name right now and this is a name that should be familiar to you."

I parted my cloak, took out a little plastic bag and placed it with a heavy thud on the counter. It was filled with hundred Polonium Full-weights.

His little button eyes blinked and the small round tongue flickered across the beak.

"I believe we know each other. What can I do for you?"

I was simply repeating Sobody's words in my ear saying,

"I have a customer who is in the market for ArtiGrav Coils . It just so happens I have room in my freight bay and I am going that way anyway, so I would take them off your hands for a fair price."

I had his undivided attention now.

"All of them? I got ten more boxes like that."

I made a sweeping gesture and said.

"Yes, all of them."

He said with a whiny voice.

"I would gladly sell them to you but they are already promised to Warktur and he is my best customer."

Sobody's knowledge was truly invaluable and he had me say:

"He never pays you more than 5 Polos per box on a good day. I give you 12 Full weights right here and now."

His voice and demeanor relaxed somewhat and he said.

"You know the scrap business, I can tell." He raised one of his wings and produced a little Hand laser he casually played with and continued to say,

"Let us imagine and for arguments sake, I shoot you, take all your money and dump your body out there somewhere?"

I flipped the coat andhe saw my hand on the Nul Graviton and I said with a relaxed voice

"What if for arguments sake, I introduce you to my friends?"

He did not even try to blink because Har Hi had appeared right behind him with one of his knives directly at the thin throat and whispered.

"Did you just threaten our Captain or was this just a joke?"

Gothar dropped the little laser and said:

"A joke. It was a joke!"

I said:

"You can leave me alone with Mr. Gothar . I am sure we will come to an agreement now."

Har Hi nodded and left through the entrance.

I crossed my arms and said.

"Now how about those coils. I am still willing to deal fair, but don't test me again."

He raised his three fingered hands.

"Of course. I think my friend Warktur must find salvage coils elsewhere, your offer is good business."

I made my voice sound pleased and said.

"Splendid. Why don't you give me a good price on those bundles of Polymers and that sack of Boron discs too?"

He actually rubbed his hands together and straightened his position behind the counter and e said.

"Of course, it all makes sense. You are dealing with the Dai, they are always in the market for raw materials and recyclables. Good customers if they let you live after a deal. "

He pulled a greasy PDD with a busted case and tapped on the screen..

"140 Polo for all of it, is that acceptable?"

I pointed at the boxes.

"I say 135 if you throw in those red bulb things, and you got a deal."

He looked at the boxes and clacked with his beak.

"Frankly lady I don't know what those are. I tried to melt a few but they simply crack. But I am glad to get them out of here. You can have them all for 150."

I actually enjoyed this haggling a little and said:

"Now you talk sense. Let's say 145 and we shake hands."

He extended his claw like hand and I shook it. He croaked.

"You are a good business woman. I like your style. How do you want this delivered and where?"

"Get it to my ship by tomorrow and I'll throw in 2 chips more."

"No problem Lady. I have a bunch of lazy hands out there and will have it delivered and loaded in five or six hours."

I gave him directions and said:

"The Silver Streak at Gorotolah Spaceport . It's the Kartanian at the end of the field."

-""-

Mehdi Senhadjii was one of the specialists attached to our S-2 department. That was the official fleet designation of the Security and Intelligence department headed by Hans Neugruber. Mehdi so I learned, came from one of the oldest Colonial worlds of former United Earth called Vande Mataram. Mehdi specialization was infiltration. He spoke many languages on a truly native level, was a master of disguise and an expert in Observation Combat Psychology which is a special field that took detailed observations of individuals to scary levels. He could watch someone and give you a detailed analysis of their character and intentions. This was impressive even if you could only do that on humans. Mehdi could apply this to many non-human species as well.

He had left the Tigershark and carried the same micro fiber communication equipment we had used on Brhama Port. Currently he was in the role of a Freelancing Ill-goods merchant, dealing with any kind of product that was illegal in the influence areas of one of the Big Four.

He had contacted Elfi and she told me that we could hear and see what he did right on the main viewer. It was fascinating and a little scary. Especially since the technology used was very advanced but not impossible for any technological society.

Mehdi had contacted us because he had recognized the Half-Dai Dimon Honshu and had followed the man inside a Zorgo-Cave.

Mehdi, spoke to us via a wet-link interface, so his brain speech impulses could be transferred directly into transmitted speech without making a sound. It was the next best thing to actual telepathy, and unlike telepathy, it could not be detected. It was easily transmitted via GalNet Nano Bursts ..

I didn't know what a Zorgo-Cave was but didn't want to distract him with unnecessary questions. I leaned forward in my seat and watched our man go inside a darkened half spherical room with hammock like cocoons hanging on

silvery threads from the ceiling. Mehdi talked to the first fat Spindlar I had ever seen and said. "Two trips to the pink Ocean ."

The Spindlar took five Full weights of Mehdi and handed him a coat hanger like metal piece with a hook in the middle of a boomerang shaped metal bar.

Our infiltration expert passed the Spindlar who sat on a green force field bubble and placed the metal contraption into a slot made, some adjustments to a control panel, and a white sheet unfolded. He grabbed the hanger and swung himself onto the sheet that immediately wrapped him tight but left arms and head free. Then he was pulled to the ceiling joining the other cocoons that hung there. Now I could see a skin colored maggot like creature was sliding down the thin thread.

Mehdi squeezed something out of a small plastic tube and smeared it around the thread that was holding his cocoon. The maggot approached but did not pass the spot with the smeared substance. From up there Mehdi had a great view, especially with his enhanced cybernetic micro fiber periscope. Narth explained to me

"Those are Zorgos, a semi sentient life form of Kermac origin that is bred and sold everywhere in Freespace . They lure their prey into submission by inducing lucid and pleasurable dream states. This ability has been somewhat enhanced and its mandibles and sucking mouth have been removed. They starve to death after three or four weeks and are replaced. Those cocoons simulate how they store their victims."

I shuddered.

"Why would anyone have this done freely and even pay for it?"

He transmitted his answer.

"Why corporal species do things and what motivates them is still largely a mystery to me, but I assume it is some form of escapism. Zorgo-Caves are legal in the Union but many individual members prohibit them on their planets."

I was still thinking about that when our agent focused his surveillance equipment on the Half Dai Honsu, who hung a few meters away in another cocoon. Narth said.

"Now I can get past his mental shields without him noticing as I use the same opening he made to allow the Zorgo dreams ."

"Isn't he too far for your telepathic abilities?"

"I created something akin to an avatar . The Narth version is invisible and remains in an alternate state of space. If any human terminology could be used it would be called Telepresence . As far as I know only we Narth and a few Leedei have developed this psionic ability."

"I would lie if I say I understand exactly what it is you do, but basically you have an invisible part of you spooking around in that place, right?"

"Yes in a way I am doing the spooky thing ."

"You are a man of many talents. Some of them are outright frightening."

"All Narth can do this and I have observed that there is not much that frightens you. I must now concentrate as it takes much concentration."

While Mehdi monitored the man, Narth sat back and begun to describe the thoughts of the man:

Dimon Honshu relaxed as the colorful insubstantial dream colors soothed his mind. He liked the Zorgo caves. Here he could relax and these mindless creatures had no need for his secrets. As he was a good Telepath, he knew Zorgos and the many dreams they produced and transmitted would confuse the best Saresii or Kermac spy.

He had landed on Sin 4 and noticed the large number of Pirate ships already there. Of course it would be Pirate Market soon and the worst cut throats, killers and deep space scum would come to meet. He had seen the market a few times before and he had to admit to himself that some of the things offered were indeed rare treasures. A man with a good nose could make a killing.

He knew most of the ships and the more famous or infamous pirates, renders , privateers and corsairs. Once in a while one was missing because he got caught by officials, bit into a victim that knew how to fight back or met an early demise by one of his or her esteemed colleagues. Pirates never had a big problem raiding other pirate ships if the opportunity was there. The Worm operated and supported three Pirate ships in Freespace but of them only the Throat-Cutter was currently present.

Captain Ivok of the Throat-Cutter did not know Dimon Honshu as he had never met the Captain in this disguise persona. Of course the Worm sponsored Captains had also never met the Purple Worm in person either.

There was the Bloody Mary run by Crimson Curse, one of the oldest and most experienced Pirates. Being in this business and surviving over 20 years with the same ship was something he respected. Crimson, never bit more off than he could chew, was not excessively brutal to his victims and usually stayed away from Drugs and Slaves. Maybe that was the secret of his success.

Right behind the Bloody Mary he had seen an old Saran Destroyer that was heavily modified and modernized. Captain Meateater who owned that ship was not a man to be trifled with. He killed first and never asked any questions.

The large Kartanian Armed Merchant somewhat separated at the far end he had briefly seen at Brhama Port before he left.

He made it a point to keep up to date on GalNet news and rumors and it could only be the Silver Streak and the mysterious Captain Black Velvet.

He knew there had been a ship and Captain with the same names about 400 years ago and she made a name for herself back then, before she vanished.

If she was the same person or someone else using the name he did not know, but she had made quite an impact as he had heard from his associates at Brhama Port. She was also on the Union Top Wanted list.

He decided to keep an eye on her and maybe approach and recruit her for the Worm. He decided to stick around on Sin 4, partially because he had followed a few leads regarding the missing Nul and they all led here and then he wanted to visit the Pirate's market to see if that Red Dragon would show up.

That arrogant bastard was a Thorn in the worm's side, because the Red Dragon had started to create and operate his own Criminal Organization, known as the Sinister Alliance. Normally this would not necessarily be a bad thing, but the Sinister Alliance was growing fast.

He also wanted to see that Black Velvet person a little closer. It never hurt to know a little more about a pirate. Her ship didn't look like much at first glance to the laymen, but to expert eyes it was a different story. The ship had large added ISAH thrusters probably making it quite fast, but he doubted it was very maneuverable.

He was especially impressed with her weaponry. He considered himself a Nul technology expert and that ship over there sported impressive Nul fire power. Either she had a connection to the Nul or, what would not be any less impressive, had raided Nul Ships. If she had connections maybe she was here for the same reason, looking for the Nul Prince. Or maybe she was the one who abducted the Nul in the first place. In any case a worthwhile lead to follow. But first he would hire himself a Sojonit and then check out a few contacts and see if they heard anything about a Nul slave.

Mehdi Senhadjii interrupted Narth's narration about the thoughts of the man and reported,

"He is moving and it looks like he is not finishing a full dream session. I better get ready to follow him."

Narth said:

"Even in this state he was very alert and well shielded I could not go deeper without him noticing."

We all had listened to this fascinating insight into another beings thoughts and I said.

"He seems to be a very high figure in the Worm organization he knows the Purple Worm himself. Mr. Senhadjii  , Stay on his tracks if you can, but do not risk to much."

Mehdi lowered himself to the ground and said.

"I'll try my best, Captain."