Erica Olafson Journeys of the Tigershark Vol 9 Chapter 4 Dispersed
- 2 years ago
- 41
- 0
Tobaia the magnificent had ascended upon the highest spire of her palace. The Seventh Claw spire had never seen a queen before.
She stood there, her arms wrapped around her body and just below her breasts.
Below her the sprawling city of Hi-Togr, the very heart of the mighty Togar empire. Malmorus, the sun had just disappeared behind the crests of the Kreigha mountains in the distance, but Torgu the largest of the planet’s two moons was soon to rise and provide its magnificent cool light.
The skyline was an impressive statement of Togar supremacy and might. The sky and the not so distant meandering band of the river Harkorr was alive with traffic. The sky with fliers of all types and sizes and the wide, serene shimmering waters of Harkorr with boats and barges. Millions of lights had transferred the cityscape into a magical carpet of sparkling dots. The city appeared as orderly and quiet as it always had.
To the North East, just on the other side of the river, rising on the hill of the Frorkr district the ancient citadel of Prince Frorkur, that had become the buildings of the Togar War Academy. There was a push for decades to eliminate the cultural references to male kings and their dynasties, but to erase something so deep emerged in Togar history and culture was not as easy as it should have been.
A thick black column of smoke was rising from the Academy into the otherwise clear and cloudless sky. An Incendiary bomb had been detonated. It had killed 300 junior officers and 43 teachers, instructors and staff. The raging fire had been brought under control only moments ago.
The terror attack and the fire were the reason she was up here.
There had not been any such incidents for three thousand years, and now ever since the trial of the Innocent fur, they became increasingly frequent. That the Dissidents and rebels had the gall and the cloud to bring their terror right into Hi-Togr was the latest development.
In eight days, she was to travel to Grotha as she and all the queens before her had done for over 2000 years to be confirmed and justified by the Spirits for another cycle.
It was the most significant event in Togar society, three days of festivities, culminating in her visit to the Temple mountain of Malmoru.
It had been nothing more than a pompous event with royal pageantry for all the many centuries, but then something happened that should not have happened.
The prophecized Innocent Fur was born.
Tobaia growled with deep emotions, prophecies and religious texts were not supposed to come true. Yet all investigations confirmed, that Jolaj of Grotha was born to Jamalj, the first servant to the Lightray spirit. Jamalj had never seen a Togar male since she was brought to the temple as a little cup.
No male Togar had ever entered the sacred chambers in over two thousand cycles. There were ancient and quite modern and sophisticated security measures in place, besides no one had ever tried. Despite all the treasures, the Malmorou temple harbored. Togar were deeply religious and even the most daring thief would never even try to steal from the spirits.
The queen still staring at the now slowly dissipating column of smoke while her thoughts were drifting back.
The news that an All White was born, just as the Prophecy of the Spirits proclaimed spread like wildfire across the empire. Religious fervor surged to the last corner of Togar space. Even the intellectuals who dismissed religion as mere fantasy, begun frequenting the temples again.
The prophecy spoke of many events and a great threat that could only be faced by the White Fur herself.
She was groomed and educated, treated like a living goddess. Secret genetic testing confirmed that she was sired by a being that was more than just Togar, further cementing Jamalj’s claim that the statue of Malmoru suddenly came to life, during the climax of her time in heat and seduced her.
The High Priestess interpreted the Holy Smokes rising from the sacred Pool of Light and claimed that the Spirits prophesied her reign would see the coming of the Darkest Spirit and that this dark spirit would even disguise himself and shape itself as a Togar female. The Darkest Spirit would also kill her and all of her dynasty and great darkness would descend upon the Togar and the very light of the Galaxy’s center would be dimmed.
Then, the High Priestess of the Mother spirit Lehloran realized that her position as the highest authority in matters of faith and religion were in jeopardy. After all who needed a priestess if a genuine daughter of the gods was around.
The queen was not as gullible as the priestess thought, but she shared the priestess concerns. The daughter of a god was more than a queen. The old text claimed that the White Fur was to reunite all the Togar tribes, even the lost and forgotten ones that left Togr so long ago. Restore the males to equal partners and find the Lost King.
Tobaia snorted.
A male king on the throne of Togr, ridiculous. The reign of the male kings had been successfully ended when Comptess Rogi killed her own father and crowned herself Queen in 9940 MD.
Now in the year 12,940 and a good 3000 cycles later, the idea of male aristocrats and kings was ridiculous, males had learned their place.
A lost king, a mythical figure no more. Her eyes squinted as she was thinking that. A few years ago, she would have laughed and dismissed it, but mythical things had come true. Jolaj the White Fur existed and if she did, was the idea of a lost king so far fetched?
The prophecized darkness was perhaps that Union. The Shiss, easily on the same level as the Togar and with better technology, had paid for their transgressions against that tremendous giant. The Shiss, if all reports were true had been reduced from a major player on the galactic stage to an insignificant speck.
Tobaia knew first hand of the incredible power. She had met Alex Enroe and considered the human an actual friend. As much as a Togar queen could be friends to a Terran Human businessman.
That Alex controlled a business empire with resources far beyond the Togar and that Enroe Corp had a security fleet that could wipe out the Togar fleet was not lost to her. Enroe was just a corporation and not even the biggest.
Making Enroe very angry by forcing Lethra to do her bidding was not an action well thought through. But the Black pelted High Priestess had her by the throat and she, the Queen kept sliding down a path of no return and knew she gave that priestess more and more control and power.
Enroe had ceased all business relations with the Togar empire. The last shipment of bacon and other so delicious food items had been canceled.
As she stood there, one of her personal aides was coming up, bowed deeply and said.”The cabinet of your counsel is ready to issue a statement on the fir...”
The aide could not finish her sentence, something had penetrated the window panel and the skull of the aid, causing it to burst in a shower of blood and brain matter.
Security guards rushed up and basically threw her on the ground while establishing a protective force field over her.
Someone yelled “Assassin drones!”
--””--
The small spaceship, Cherubim called the Mirage was quite fast and I wondered if it was perhaps even as fast as the Tigershark. It had been a strange experience for me to be the passenger with nothing to do or have any part in the ship’s operations.
But now we had dropped out of Quasi and once more I found myself approaching N’Ger.
Cherubim swiveled around.”It is time you get into your first costume and identity. We are going to land at the northernmost part of the so-called Desert of Glaring Profit, more or less right at the gates to the Omnar enclave.”
I was wearing Tyron and the living suit said.”I have the privilege to be worn by my captain, General. I can simulate any garment or costume. If you have a visual or physical copy I can easily create the appearance.”
Cherubim’s masked face did not change, but felt she was quite impressed.”So it is true, you are indeed a living Seenian battle-suit?”
“Yes, General I am a Tyron type.”
I said.”Tyron is more than that, it is a Union Citizen and a valued member of my crew.”
She sighed.”Of all the wonders in this galaxy, your crew is certainly one of the biggest. There are entire civilizations out there willing to go to war for a prize like your suit. Can you simulate a face cover and different hair, make her appear like a member of a different species?”
“If the other life form has the approximate size, yes. I would not be able to simulate an Archa or a Mini Terran, but I would be able to simulate a Y’All or Saturnian.”
I interjected again.”Tyron is not my or anyone’s suit.”
The Mirage did not seem to need helm and was descending and approaching the landing field all on its own. Of course, automated landing was part of many civilian ship AI’s capabilities. Only the Navy rejected automated landing.
Cherubim displayed no visible confirmation to my statement and changed the subject.
“The Omnar merchants are Oghr, but like all the other merchant houses not affiliated with any of the shattered kingdoms. They are well-known merchants of second-hand items and materials. Their biggest clients are pirates and scavengers. The Omnar buy pretty much everything including slaves.”
I frowned. “At another time I would love to make sure they never deal with sentient life ever again, but can I ask you why we are here? I am eager to get to Togr and find our Snowball.”
“Patient, Erica. We can’t simply fly into Togar space and land on their Crown world without a solid cover. The cats of Togr are neither stupid nor do they trust others easily. Their intelligence service is on the highest alert, especially since our Assembly gave them ten days to produce Jolaj unharmed.”
I felt pleased. “So the Old Highlander kept word?”
Cherubim laughed.”He might intend to do so, but no it was the High Commissioner of the OOCA.”
“What has the Office of Citizen Affairs to do with all this?”
“Your Snowball managed to send an emergency call to Union Police and since they have no jurisdiction outside of Union space and your Navy wanted to keep the thing quiet, the police officer receiving the call opened an OOCA case in behalf of Jolaj Grotha. The Assembly outraged issued an ultimatum to the Togar government.”
“I had no idea all this was going on. And it seems that Old Highlander keeps playing his games.”
The Mirage settled on the hard-packed surface of a salt lake that was known as the Desert of Glaring Profit. I had been here before, but the Tigershark had landed quite a distance from here.
Cherubim said.”Don’t judge him too hard, Erica. Remember it is not you who comes first for him, but the entire Navy. It is expected that a good CO put’s his or her ship before anything, even before the crew. McElligott likes you, I can tell after knowing him for three thousand years, but to him, the Spatial Navy comes first above everything. It’s his baby, Erica. He built it from scratch.”
“Intellectually I can understand that, but all he has to do is say so, making speeches and promises and then changing his mind is not exactly building a lot of trust.”
Again she laughed.”True that and that is why Richard isn’t exactly his best friend. You, on the other hand, seem to be the closest thing the Eternal Warrior ever had to a daughter.”
She got up and added.”I have to change.”
Alright, and what am I going to be?”
“The General of NAVINT said, this is for my Soja. The Saresii Autodresser back in your cabin has been sent by her. I consider myself an expert in these and I think she sent you something from the First Age of Knowledge, I’d give a fortune for one of these.”
I shrugged.”Maybe you need to ask her. How does she know about all of this?”
Erica, she is the Commandant of NAVINT, she knows whatever she wants to know. Of course, she knows about Operation Fish, the Tigershark is under NAVINT command after all.”
Cherubim cocked her head.”What puzzles me in all this, how deeply she seems to care about you.”
She went to the door.”Use that machine to change your appearance and I sent Mr.Suit the details for your outer garments. The Omnar will sell us a skimmer and provide us with a cover story for our merchandise. Then we cross the Glaring Desert and make a deal with the Lorr.”
“And they are who?”
“The Lorr are Togar, they are here on N’Ger longer than anyone and they are independent of the Togar empire. The Lorr deal with food and we have ten tons of bacon and tuna.”
--””--
The Tigershark was still sitting in a hangar of Christmas Base, but her crew was complete with the exception of Jolaj, the Captain, Tyron, and Roghor. Har-Hi who had just left the ship corrected his own thoughts. Meeze, their latest crew member was missing too, but Har-Hi was certain the sassy worm was a stowaway aboard the Mirage. He could not even reprimand the worm when it came back. Meeze had literally wormed himself into the crew and of all people it had been the Admiral of the Fleet that made the Wheeze an official crew member. Meeze had zero academy training or any Union school. Meeze had no position or rank, all things that Har-Hi decided to address as soon as the Worm returned along with the others.
The Dai actually smiled as he was thinking about the small creature with a big appetite and little respect for anything.
Har-Hi glanced at his new golden sleeve ring that had been added to his uniform by the Auto Dresser. The entire crew, with a few exceptions of new additions, had been promoted, he had been advanced to Commander. It would have been a tremendous event and cause for a shipwide celebration especially as the Admiral of the Fleet and two high ranking officers were personally present. But the entire crew of the Tigershark accepted the promotions without a single cheer.
Har-Hi sighed, she was gone just a few days and he missed her too. The real reason for the crews less than enthusiastic response was, of course, the fact, that they all wanted to volunteer and kick all regulations in the wind that prevented them to follow the captain and free Jolaj. There was not a Dai Tribe as loyal and close-knit as this crew. The Dai sighed with a proud smile, then he stepped into an Inter Base Transport and told the system to take him to Xeno Lab facility 12.
It took no time for the transport capsule to reach the requested destination almost 200 klicks from the Tigershark’s berth.
After he entered the research facility and passed through several security locks. He was asked by a robot to step into an auto dresser before he was allowed to proceed.
Clad in a hermetically sealed protective suit, he finally emerged in a large sterile and spotless clean white hemispherical room. A large burnt looking object was sitting at the center of this spacious room.
What the crew of the Tigershark nicknamed the Geek Squad was all here, officially led by the ships CSO, Lt. Schwartz.
All, but Three-Four wore the same protective suits.
Shea was floating once again, near the top of the thing, at about ten meters holding a scanner. The Dai caught her attention with a wave of his arm and he said as she
Shea floated down and with a few airy dance steps she landed before Har-Hi.”Hi, Sir. We are just wrapping things up before we crate the specimen and sent it to the Neugruber BioSciences Institute on Venus.”
Har-Hi eyed the black clump. “So you send our only ‘whatever that is’ to the Sol system? Well, maybe they have more luck.”
Narth joined the conversation by also floating to the ground.”This is not our own specimen. We dissected twelve, terminated four and sent eight to various research institutes. This is the last of the Lava Moth Cocoons we took out of the crust.”
Brana, the Delicate remained floating. “We know what it is and what it does.”
Har-Hi looked dumbfounded.”We do? So we are done?”
SHIP who was here via her Ego Remote said.”No Sir, we identified a grave danger and we determined that the Ypeherix deliberately seed those terraforming semi organisms.”
Seamlessly Shea picked up.”We have not yet determined why the Ypeherix do it, but we are fairly sure these are self-replicating terraforming tools of the Earlies. Since the Earlies have been active a very long time ago, we fear that many millions of planets have been infected with these deep seeds.”
The Dai rubbed his chin.”That is frankly beyond me. What is it we are supposed to do next? This does not seem to be an issue for a single ship.”
Three-Four returned into his suit and said.”Maybe we capture us a few Ypeherix?”
A new person wearing an environmental suit came in and joined the group. The form-fitting suit revealed a short somewhat overweight human with bowlegs. It was the Admiral of the Fleet, Har-Hi seeing him for the first time without his kilt.
The Admiral pointed at the big black thing and said. “I am sure the Science Corps will extract the last iota of information about that thing, but I can’t tell you how proud I am that the science department of a Fleet ship unraveled the mystery so fast.”
Shea said.”We haven’t really, Sir. We just identified what this is.”
Har-Hi repeated his question and added.”Sir, this assignment doesn’t feel like something the Tigershark can solve in an appropriate fashion.”
“Little did I realize how much brain power his Little Fish has.” The Admiral of the Fleet said.”I am leaving Christmas Base and continue with my inspection tour, maybe I should take you all along. It equally unsuited for the Tigershark.” He walked closer to the carbon crusted cocoon. “With all that brain power I hoped you figure out why.”
The Admiral touched the pod and said.”I wanted you to take it nice and slow, keep you out of trouble as much as this is possible, and give your Captain time to do her thing and bring that Togress back.”
The king had been an important person all his life, yet standing in the back of the alien ships bridge e felt very small and insignificant. There was a huge spider, a humanoid covered from head to toe in mirror-polished metal. A giant with only one eye and a host of other beings behind elegantly shaped consoles; and at the center on a raised seat sat the female he knew was the Captain. She managed to sit relaxed and yet there was no doubt in the king’s mind that she paid the greatest...
While the Stellaris scientist was on his way back, I presumed at least. I stood with my fists stemmed into my hips and looked up to check out the still quite hot strange shaped object sitting before us on the ground.”So what is it, do we know?” Shea hovered about three meters of the ground and close to the mostly black surface of the thing that roughly reminded me of a tick, a big bloated abdomen, and a really tiny head. She had used her marvelous sword to cut into the things hard outer...
Jolaj was no longer bound and her fur was once again as white snow. She was treated like a princess, but there was no doubt, she was a prisoner. They did not allow her to leave her quarters. She learned that the ship was not a Togar product, but a luxury yacht made by Enroe. None of her captors had given their names, they simply identified themselves as the Resistance. A group she had learned called themselves, Children of Malmoru.” The female, with a light brown fur and puffy cheeks,...
Ciferus was right behind Lumis as they scrambled into the cave and used the Nexus point to return to Avondur. Lumis had lost all his arrogance; the proclaimed Lord of Light was a shivering heap, kneeling in the fine dust that covered much of the Nexus chamber’s floor. Shard, the supposedly indestructible weapon of light had been deformed and bent like a piece of lead. His new, Crea restored armor torn and in pieces. When he was flung into the cave wall, he felt like an insect. He had been...
Our ship had settled down on its landing gear and Shaka powered down the Arti Gravs. Har-Hi pointed at a large number of tanks and artillery pieces that had been assembled around the vast empty plane, that was designated to us as a place to land. “I don’t think those are all for military honors. I think they are still quite nervous about us.” Narth agreed with my XO. “To describe the entire planet’s population, the terms anxiety and fear would be on top of my choices.” Mehdi occupying a...
What was there to do? The quest for the depot shaped up to be quite real and we were actually making some sort of progress. The Wisdom Keeper appeared to be a vital piece in this quest, but our disguise did not extend to the inside. Narth spoke to me in our silent telepathic way.”I can not read him. He is well shielded but I sense he is very old and he is more than just the Wisdom Keeper of an auxiliary temple.” “Splendid just splendid. Now what I am supposed to say and why did he pick...
I ordered my friends and crew back to the ship. Malmoru had instant and unquestioned authority and no one asked any questions. The word was, that the White Innocent Fur had indeed prevented the darkest spirt from causing the demise of all Togar. The dark spirit, so the word among the Togar had manifested itself in the High Priestess. Something that fits well with the believes and also apparently resonated well with the rebels and dissidents. The demise of the queen, by the hand of that dark...
I doubt my eyes would have stayed dry, even in a sandstorm on Alvor’s Cove when I saw her. There she was, the USS Tigershark. Repaired, refurbished and upgraded. Now I knew why the destroyer was shaped the way it was. It did not fit inside, but it docked right at the Tigershark’s belly. The biggest visible changes were the docking clamps for the Destroyer and the changes to the landing gear. Circuit had used mechanical arms and special tractor guide beams to dock the Apparition. To my...
The former slaves were received like kings. The Golden and their employees went out of their way to accommodate them. Tables and benches were carried out on the big central yard of the Golden enclave. The Golden handed out food, clothing and what surprised the former slaves more than anything, weapons. I jumped on a table and said.”You are free beings now. You can walk out that gate and try to find a new home. I will ask the Golden to give all those who leave 100 polos, so you are not...
The Stellaris scientist-led us through several connecting tube tunnels and stopped at another airlock module. Space is limited, unfortunately, and we can’t accommodate Nul or ... is that a Y’All?” I put a firm tone in my voice.”Is there a problem with that?” “Oh no, I voted for their admission. I just noticed the Ensign rank insignia and wondered how it managed to get to be an officer that fast.” “He joined the Union as an individual ahead of his kind. This is Ensign TheOther, a valued...
The Dai fliers had reached the crumbling wall and one of the men stood up, his voice amplified. “We know you are hiding there, Union wench. My Cam wants you and all must yield to his will. Come out and I let the rest of the scum live.” Pander-Go yelled before I could respond. “You are Na. You can not afford any witnesses. She has as much claim to be Patri as you or the Tar of the Hi. What you are doing is not Than. If your Cam wants her, let him come forward and challenge her. Hundreds...
The woman that stepped through a shimmering portal of dark red light, had dark grey skin, long white hair and wore a skimpy outfit which was an odd combination of bikini, medieval armor, and wispy veils. Her eyes had no pupils but glowed in the same dark red light as the now dissipating portal. Stahl suddenly remembered Sunday school and stopped himself to actually make the sign of the cross. However, he was never really intimidated, by anyone. The Eternal Warrior got up, like the old...
“How?” TheOther yelled. “Restore the main energy feed to this system. It has been severed. This system no longer has physical controls.” A holographic image established itself. It was a representation of the Chamber he was in, and a big console not to far was highlighted. “Proceed to the panel indicated and restore the energy feed to the Yah-ha Al drones. They will obey me and restore what must be restored.” TheOther was about to do exactly that, but he stopped. “These drones will also...
“So how are we going to do this?” Har-Hi asked as we passed through an enormous opening, big enough for a Union battleship. I stood behind Shaka, who was inside his helm sphere and looked past our front viewports into the bewildering interior of Quarva. Sodoby said. “This rock is even bigger than mine. What a nice Bazaar it would make. “Har-Hi snickered. “That might depend on our captain’s mood. Who knows who actually runs this place. “The asteroid interior was one gigantic city that...
From the open door, Dusty stepped into the room.”I am containing the Dai.” The living dust cloud flowed like a sand storm around me and engulfed both Dai. The Dustcloud said.”Captain, they are riding on electromagnetic waves. They infiltrated us as we set the shields transparent for radio waves.” Both Dai looked like living statues. Now Orthbeer passed through the deck plating. I could not hear what he was trying to say, then he came closer and closer and his greenish hand passed into my...
Deep in the bowels of Quarva, Meeze reached a rock chamber, no outsider had seen since the Mara had left so long ago, There was very little light, the faint lumination that came from dim glowing mushrooms did little to reveal more than vague shadows. Meeze had little need for light, his species was well adapted to dark places and lightless crevices. There in the darkness, something big lingered, then moved and shifted. A malleable, mass oozing with stringy goo shifted its position and a...
As I stepped off the space-bus, a stiff breeze of wind howled over the landing field. The last time I left, it was still Longnight and winter had a hard grip on the planet of Nilfeheim. While it was still Longnight, for fourteen more months, the planet was already thawing and Shortsummer was soon upon this world. I filled my lungs deeply with the cold crisp air that carried the scents of Soakstone and Kelp brick fires, but also the savory smell of fried fish and Fangsnapper. I knew I was no...
The Dragon stood in his cargo bay and his eyes glowed as his pirates dumped loads of Iridium and other highly valuable goods only to return to get more. He cursed himself for not remembering the right planet. He was so sure he had been here before and now he could not remember any details. He was so certain the suit told him these coordinates. Of course, he had not kept any files on the coordinates but his suit knew where it was and now it was silent and did not respond to anything. All there...
Everything was right as snow to me. I sat in a command seat surrounded by many of my friends. We were in Union Space inside a very fast and very well armed ship and were on our way to meet the rest of my friends and crew. I was really looking forward to my ship, my own quarters and whatever mission lay ahead. I reclined comfortable, had my legs crossed and almost dozed off, looking at the soothing sight of deep space displayed on our main viewer, some stars showing as Quasi streaks of...
As I ran along Har-Hi barefoot and still wearing something akin to a hospital gown. “You know that I never flew a Dai fighter and I am also a tad underdressed.” He stopped at a bright red hole that opened in a wall. “You can fly my Wolfcraft and we acquired a few Auto Dressers.” He pointed at the hole. “Jump in, feet first preferably.” I did and found myself on some sort of metal slide, that went almost vertical increasing my speed to something unhealthy if the end was solid ground. It...
UPWARD The NAVINT commander had her Avatar established in the secure conference room underneath the surface of Richter 4. Also present were Cherubim, Algear Moansti, Admiral McElligott and now the Avatar of Admiral Stahl blinked into existence. The little group was made complete by a massive alien. The large alien, the Nul All Leader was here the first time by invitation. I was the Commandant of NAVINT that opened this top-level meeting and after she acknowledged the ones present she went...
Hans due to his size and strength was often seen as a bruiser with tremendous strength but little else. This was not the case since he was with the Olafson gang. He was asked about his opinion about other things. The woman across him was about as opposite as a being could be to a Saturnian, she was a Delicate. While Brana was certainly not a member of the original gang, she like the rest became like family. She had just stepped into his security office and without any hesitation floated...
TheOther was injured. The wounds he received from the relentless attacks of these smaller Y’All versions were too deep and too severe for his incredible healing abilities to cope with. He regretted the fact that he opted to forego the AutoDoc adjustment, Cateria recommended for months now. The original factory-issued unit, requested a species update because this amazing piece of Union technology was deploying medical nanites and his own bodies defense mechanisms fought the nanites and...
The Thauran behind the altar thundered with a deep voice.”What is this?” “Itz ze Meeze, stoopiz. Meeze goez now, whenz the Meeze comz backz. Ze girlz Soburz iz bettzer reazy zo goez.” Men drew weapons, none appeared to be of Union origin and aimed it at the Wheeze. One of them said.”I never have seen a creature like that, and I can not identify the hardware it is wearing but it speaks a very garbled version of Union standard.” “Pffz youze triez to doez ze speakiz witz a ringmouz, noz...
He had been here once before, time of other realms had no meaning here. The ground he stood on, was a polished hard surface of highly reflective properties and stretched into every direction and into infinity. The universe with all its clusters and superstrings reflected in it from the infinite sky above this surface. This was the Plane of Eternity, a place beyond the Omniverse itself. Lumis remembered when he was brought here the first time. Then, he did not listen to the name of Lumis....
After we had triaged the wounded and contacted the Union Carriers, the news spread fast. There was an intense but very short space battle. The Na tribe and their closest allies had used their ships to bring the non-Dai troops to Thana Shoo, with many Muta-Kerr and Shiruti still in the ships. They were intended to take over the mothers and battleships of the non-compliant tribes. The Dai were fired up with anger and flew their fighters with a merciless vengeance. However, the true difference...
Not just a destroyer showed up, but the entire Hi tribe and a substantial part of their allied and associated Tribes. Jarsumat Port was now filled with ships of the Hi tribe, unloading surface tanks and troops. Har-Hi and I had passed the time talking, playing the local game of dice and having a meal of spicy stew. We were a bit surprised seeing surface troops and tanks land instead of the expected destroyer. The Tar himself had come dirtside and greeted us. That the Tar felt embarrassed...
The thing didn’t move. Narth said. “I am holding it. It is strong but not unmanageable. “SHIP called. “The asteroid has revealed previously unknown weaponry. It is taxing our shields to almost 20 percent. ““Are you in danger?” “Oh, no captain. That tech is quite advanced, and I think it is Orlan but Mao took those weapons out with kilo loads. I was just reporting. “I dialed my TKU to 10 and said. “It’s going to get mighty hot in here. Narth your shields are on, right?” “No, captain. I...
The words of the Pale Ones almost seemed to linger as a hushed silence took hold of the assembled Dai. It appeared everyone was waiting for the Cam’s response. Completely out of character for a usual stern and serious Dai Than, Elf-Na grinned. It was an evil smile no doubt. “And I intend to do just that, but not in the arena. The Arena is sacred and for Dai Than only. You question my word calling that traitorous Hi tribe, Okthi and reject it. I reject his declaration that this Union female,...
Lia and her crew of outcasts, dropped out of Quasi-space at a star system eighteen light-years from the trans-spatial gate. According to her admittingly outdated information, this was the homeworld of the Farnok. They were hailed almost immediately and after a few moments, Squack language communications were established, confirming the fact, that this was not the first trans-galactic contact. The being appearing on the viewer was covered with short brown fur and had general similarities...
I was with Sodoby and Warner in our Den trying to find a prominent spot for my latest souvenir, the creepy golden mask, when Narth came in.”Captain, I am certain we have the locations of all Seenian worlds and depots. I correlated my memorized visuals with the data copy of Tyron and SHIP created a set of time adjusted Nav targets.” “We still need to follow the pirates and take them out. I was also told that finding the inheritance does not mean you can access it unless you have been judged...
About ten armed Trontigmakader entered the tavern, led by an insectoid in a flashy bright blue and white armor of some kind. “The four Masters declared martial law until we can determine who released the Cleanser beasts from their hold. This place has been identified as a meeting place of the Discrepant Element. You are all considered potential collaborators, perhaps even supplying weapons to these criminals. You are...” A high pitched humming voice screamed from somewhere else. “The Four...
Har-Hi had left over two hours ago with the first twenty and reported the city was orderly. The crew members with him had a good time and the locals were used to visitors and merchants from other places. He also reported that there was a market and Circuit excited. I warned him not to buy any more eggs. Even though I had to admit Fenris had turned out to be liked by the crew and more or less fit right in. Two of the minis were out near the Red Dragon watching I suspected the Red Dragon...
The Dai Nest so I learned a week later, was a huge space station in an otherwise empty star system. It was deep in Union space. The star had been named Dai-Core. The station was made of several Gigamon stations, interconnected with girder-like structures that acted as docks and mooring arms for Dai ships and the humongous Dai Mothers. The system and the station were busy. From my visually unaided vista, a simple viewport I counted eleven Dai Mothers, I was sure there were many more outside...
After nine days of event-less trans-light travel, we had dropped out of Quasi just outside the Porsthir home system. While most of the other pirates dropped well within the system, I noticed that Crimson was now doing the same cautious approach I preferred. Hans told me that Kilkam asked if he could access the bridge. I sighed and looked to Har-Hi who shared my sentiment but nodded.”He knows most of it anyhow and bridge audio can be accessed from anywhere in the ship.” I gave Hans the okay...
I went to the high-security storage facility our robots and my engineer had built after I had taken a shower and changed into a new uniform. I padded the colt and swore to myself never to leave it behind ever again. Circuit had installed a portable matter destruction furnace, next to the large transparent force field encased cylinder filled with those disgusting white maggots. Narth was with me as well as Har-Hi. Narth said. “Do you really want to destroy them all?” “You are right, maybe...
Funsecsiev the Command wizard of the large Kermac fleet felt frustrated, a little scared and cheated. Frustrated, because he was not in control of the Celtest depot, nor did he have detailed information as for how it might be reached. Scared because he did not want to return to Kermac prime without a report of success and cheated because this mission if successful could have been the door to the Tower of Wizards and the lead position of a ministry. Without the expected success, his chances...
Har-Hi had finished his report and waited for Stahl’s response. There was none, at least not right away. The Old Admiral was staring at the Dai and then wiped his mouth. “You guys found the source of the Y’All?” “Yes, Sir we are quite confident that the Crucible is indeed that source. Along with my verbal report, I have transmitted all data we were able to gather. “While we are all confident, our Captain will succeed in destroying this source. She felt that this was a number too big for...
The Narth representative almost begged the detective to observe more and then asked Alegar and Egiull to tag along. The human detective had agreed with a friendly nod, and now all of them were sitting in an unmarked Sunblazer patrol flier that was just descending from its high altitude and approached Ms. Baldwin Town. A residential township on the North West region of the Government Continent. Egill who was no longer a newcomer to Pluribus actually knew next to nothing about the planet and...
“Circuit, are you there?” “Yes, Captain but there are green vapor things in Engineering.These things affecting the injector spear blades of both Chandelier diverters. We can’t tap TransDim energies right now and I switched to secondary power.” “Can we still lift off?” “Not at the moment Captain. Most of my engineering crew is acting weird and two have pulled the auxiliary reactor down into maintenance cycle. I need to contain them and get the reactors back up. We are on battery power...
“Well, we are well past GalNet range.” Circuit said sitting behind his console. He had insisted to come along, as this was a real Karthanian freighter and not my own marvelous ship disguised as one. I had contemplated taking the Tigershark, as the Janus mask could have been easily adjusted, but I wanted Har-Hi to have all its resources available, as I was convinced he had to face more than just old-fashioned atomic bombs. “Might be as well, Mr.Circuit. It will prevent me to call back every...
We didn’t have to fight the Merrimac destroyer. The mercenaries immediately signaled surrender. They all were Union citizens, and according to Hans, checking the files. They did have a notice to appear issued, but were still citizens and not yet charged with anything. The ship was bristling with illegal mil-tech, but it was registered to Nick Harlequin and not to any of the surrendering mercenaries. They also reported the demise of Chucky Harlequin and wanted to know if there was any bounty...
I knew I should have paid more attention to the Laurin Oghr, especially since I knew about the Bunthik subculture. The only excuse I had was the fact that I was drunk, but then this was no excuse because I should not have left my guard down like that in an environment that was less than familiar to me. I should have suspected the presence of more than one spy. If the situation was as serious as I believed it was, the opposing actors namely this Cam Elf-Na would not give up easily. All this...
The USS Braddock swung into orbit around one of the most mysterious worlds in the entire Universe, Narth Prime. She was the first Non-Narth vessel ever to do that in over a thousand years. Captain Mike Anderson was very aware of that. No active scanning was done. He gave strict orders not to activate any probing rays or scanners other than the passive ones needed for spaceship operations. The planet was as unusual as its inhabitants and reputation. It had no visible surface features from...
Shea tried to catch her breath, her suit was in restore and repair mode and the system assured her that it would be fully functional in less than an hour. Krabbel was not so lucky and her Archa friend was missing a leg. Hans and the Y’All and the marines were unharmed, except for a few bruises. The island was destroyed, and the shaft leading into the deep had collapsed. Hans was sitting by Krabbel who assured her that the Auto-Doc of his suit kept him pain-free and that losing a leg was not...
A muscular being covered with a brown shroud came running our way. It had a nonhuman snout sticking out from under his hood. What was exposed of him was covered with a short gray fur. In his right, he held an elegant looking weapon. It appeared to be an energy beamer of sort, he had fired it twice into the direction he was coming from. Now he turned and with it his weapon and he aimed at me. Lucky for me I was close, unfortunate for him, I had already drawn the Dai blade. I moved fast into...
Har-Hi was led to a Wisdom keeper, who was without question an old Dai. The revelation that there was a Dai was quite a surprise for Har-Hi. He had not expected that, but since he had become a Union officer and traveled with Erica, he had met and seen the unthinkable. Living dust clouds, planet surface covering creatures and a planet-bound, desert scavenging Dai. He had met Dai that were born in captivity and knew a Dai tribe leader was engaged in selling Dai Than as slaves. Meeting a Dai...
I had been in deep space before and knew how cold space was. Yet standing here on that frozen plane with these bizarre tooth or needle-shaped rock formations, with a bright star just over the horizon giving it all a bluish shine, made it look colder than anything I had seen before and I came off a very cold world myself. Not that I felt any of it, I wore a disguised Atas battle suit, made to look like a piece of undefinable alien hardware and I also wore Tyron Suit. While he assured me I...
I returned to the table where Har-Hi was talking with the former pirate captains and a former Union fleet petty officer, who had dealt with the Worm and now paid the price. “We need to get back to the ship, right away. “Har-Hi didn’t lose a second and got up, tossed a few Iridium coins on the table and was ready to follow me. Lemakr, the Togar said. “What about us, Black Velvet?” “I have all the crew I need and I am in a hurry, figure it out. “I was torn between showing them some sort of...
The disguised Tigershark dropped out of Quasi-Space and as it has become our routine just beyond the utmost Elfi said. “Looks like they had contact with our galaxy before. Communication is now possible. They respond to Squack.” I got up, Har-Hi held my mask. “You should wear it, it is part of your Black Velvet trademark and flair of mystery.” “You think I have that? I mean a flair?” “In spades, Captain and I begin to learn to like this Do suit, complete with mask. It gives me that...
The Thauran now known as Red Dragon cursed at the Situation and cursed his Sensor Operator.”You said you detected the Silver Streak in Orbit. Where is it?” “I swear to you it was there one second and now it’s gone. I think she went over the Pole. Adjusting for magnetic interference now.” “What a worthless idiot are you? Is she there or not?” “No Captain I cannot detect her ship anywhere in the system, maybe our Sensors were damaged.” “Of course your sensors are damaged. She can’t simply...
This situation reminded me of my first visit to Sin 4. I did not know where I was, brought here against my will. Abducted, stripped of everything I owned. I was once again bare feet, had several blisters and burn wounds. My hair was a mess, at least In didn’t have to go pee. Darn it thinking about it, made realize I actually did. I was still running across that landing field, not knowing where I was going, but I knew I still stuck out like a sore thumb, being the only pin skinned human. The...
I was sitting on the main diagnostic table of our sickbay. Cateria had taken me out of a regen tank just moments ago and was now examining me. “What did you do, Captain? Fight a blast furnace” I could not find the emotions to smile, Tyron’s demise was heavy on my mind. “What I faced was certainly hot enough to melt metal. “Har-Hi was standing outside the privacy bubble and said. “Whatever you guys did, worked the run-away Orlan equipment is inactive and we can no longer detect any random...
The USS Gromsmaro was not a supply transporter and not a unit of the Science Council. She was a full sized, late model Union battleship under the command of Captain Bronbohr, a four meters tall Vvolti. Bronbohr was not the most liked commanding officer in the Union fleet, but there was hardly one more correct or fair. His ship and crew were among the top ten vessels in the entire spatial navy in terms of response to alert times, simulated battle honors, efficiency ratings and so forth. The...
The news of Eric Olafson being on trial had reached Nilfeheim. First noticed by Lars Igvarhein the owner and operator of Nilfeheim Radio. That Eric had become Erica was not widely known, but his legend had grown. Isegrim, Siegfrieda, Exa, and Elenna had traveled to Hogun’s Tavern. The place was packed to standing room only. Hogun had his GalNet terminal active on GalNet One and the system displayed the proceedings on the largest field screen setting possible. Aunt Freydis was assisted by...
The latest development transmitted in the tightly packed guest room of Hogun’s Tavern was greeted with cheers and raised tankards. Gunnar Peerson said. “I guess we only hear now, what a hero our Eric Olafson really is.” “It is the strong arm of an Olafson and the sharp mind of a Ragnarsson paired with the virtues of a true Norse that is at the core of Isegrim’s firstborn that enables such deeds.” Proclaimed another. Isegrim shouted. “Mighty brother Hogun, open barrels and let your kitchen...
Rex Schwartz, now fully aware of his ancient dual personality, known as Invictus Rex had, of course, witnessed the approach and the initial attack of the Tomradi. He was confident, that the latest TransDim shields would hold against anything these aliens could throw at them from surface weapons. The appearance of these huge disc-shaped battleships however caused great concern. He brought along a sizeable army of Seenian Sentmacs. Cloned humans that had been altered to be the perfect...
After I was reunited with my friends and my ship we left Karthanian space and returned to the space dock of Fantlemo Brthail. The Karthanian engineer had returned with us. He told us, that with the First Engineer active, the old Guildmasters would be swept away; and he realized that he no longer wanted to be a Guild leader. He rather returned to Itheamh and helped rebuild it and run his space dock. In order to maintain our cover, he reverted to his alter ego of Fantlemo Brthail and only...