Erica Olafson Journeys of the Tigershark Vol 9 Chapter 4 Dispersed
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The place was called Shanties Swallow and it was not far from the main landing field of the Class E Spaceport of Shale Blue.
Shale Blue was technically a Union world at the furthermost fringes of the Thauran Empire in the Spinward sector of the M-0 galaxy, but it was indeed a fringe world.
The Thauran noble family that controlled the world, the Peribar resided on a world twelve light years distant. Pulam Peribar, the third son of Baron Persor of Peribar was the man in charge, but that was more a joke than anything else. Pulam loved Thauran wine and had no interest in getting help from the Union clinic.
He carefully maintained a state of perpetual drunkenness and combined this with extensive naps.
That was of little consequence to the patrons of the Shanties Swallow, or pretty much anyone else ob Shale Blue.
The entire population did not exceed two hundred heads and that included the twelve Terran Chicken, Galwun Gerorn kept.
Shale Blue was not a world that enticed colonization, not that environmental factors alone were reasons keeping Union colonists away, but the combination of the planets apparent lack of resources, the lackluster management and the rather aggressive, stinging insect population were most certainly main factors. That Shale Blue was not very close to anything, Union or even Thauran related was certainly also to be considered.
All that, however, did not affect the business of the Shanties Swallow tavern. It was a well-known hang out for spacers and privateers, that weren’t exactly high profile criminals but neither model citizens or very enthusiastic subjects of the Thauran Empire.
In terms of entertainment, the place didn’t feature much variety. There was a well worn Tabil Tosser in one corner and right next to a public GalNet terminal. A genuine billard table, something that every Thauran establishment of this sort simply had to have. Unlike the truly masterful players of this Thauran game that could be found on almost every Azure world of the Empire, the patrons of this place had neither the skills nor the interest.
The regular patrons did enjoy playing Poker or Knaku and there was always some gambling going on.
While neither ambiance nor the choices of entertainment were reasons of people coming here, one of the reasons was the food offered at Shanties. Despite the less than stellar hygiene conditions, the food was of the finest Thauran kind.
Another reason for people coming here was fuel, the ability to access Union GalNet, the Post Office, the Union Outpost Auto Med Cube and Regul’s Repairs.
Regul wasn’t the best engineer in terms of Union quality, but still far better than anything non-Union in this region. Regul was also able to order spare parts over GalNet and only added a modest profit margin.
The table underneath the Mahlman’s Beer advertisement lamp was occupied by seven beings. They all nursed drinks, except one who just received his order of Thauran Wine Wiggler Soup and Cheese and begun savoring the delicacy.
He rolled his eyes with delight as he ate the first forkful of the wine steamed worms. “I have to agree, sister. This place should be famous for its food. Those Wine Wigglers are simply divine.”
A Thauran woman having a glass of Thauran Chardonnay before her said.”Shanties Shallow is famous for its food, just not in the circles you and I used to frequent. For me, this will be the new norm.”
The Thauran digging into his meal took a moment between forks, dabbed his mouth with a napkin before reaching for his wine.”And if we fail, we might order this for our last meal. The new Thauran government and most Thaurans are even more committed to the Union than ever before.”
“I am aware of that, brother. Most but not all, there are those who lost much.”
“I’ve seen your research, and this is why I am here. Some things are more important than personal safety. Family honor and the old Thauran ways certainly count.”
She clenched her fist.”She killed father, that can not stand.”
“She did so much more.” Said another Thauran at the table.”When I meet Olafson, he was still male and he caused my father to be executed. He was an admiral and I was on my way to eventually become an admiral myself.”
“It was this Olafson, that caused me being drummed out of the Navy with the stain of a dishonorable discharge. I escaped civilian prosecution, but only because my father was arrested with many other Thauran nobles. The house of Suppor is virtually destroyed.”
The former Midshipman pounded his fist on the table.”I want him destroyed, not just killed. I want him to suffer as no one has suffered before.”
The man speaking now was not Thauran. Even though he was hiding much of himself under a hood, the paperwhite skin of the exposed skin and the short stature made it obvious he was Kermac.
“For a numbskull of an apparently insignificant planet, that individual has caused us Kermac much headaches and troubles. He was supposed to become bait for a Narth, and we spend considerable resources to have him abducted. We deemed him dead, perished on Sin 4. Yet he surfaced again on Union side and while we could not find out where he was after he played hero on Outpost 96. He has surfaced as a female and commanding a spaceship, according to the information we got from you, Tamara Taros.”
She did not smile as she knew she betrayed more than just an individual, but everything. “I gave you the complete crew list of that ship, the Narth is still there.”
“And there is Xon, the Nul prince, several Y’All. A Saran princess, a genuine Seenian CMO and many more very unusual individuals. This list is perhaps the most significant piece of intelligence we Kermac were able to obtain.”
The man who was now done eating said.”And the daughter of Salia Sobur who is Tellia Thauran.”
A Thauran who had not yet spoken said.”I went to great length to abduct my mother and two of my siblings, but they do not have the key of Rene. My sister was always out of reach being with the fleet and all. She is the last one of my family I haven’t been able to question. As you requested, I sent that GalNet message, but what makes you think she will not only come but bring you that Olafson?”
The former Security chief displayed a cold grin.”Because she will run to her captain, and my research and that of my father revealed one strange aspect of that gender changed captain, she goes out of her way to help her crew. That Captain Olafson will even disregard orders if it comes to her friends.”
“And she is friends with a lowly Ensign who is Thauran?” The Kermac asked.
Swybin snorted.”If that Erica is Eric, of which I have no doubt, then I wager she is already on her way. Even at basic training, he went out of his way to help his friends.”
Namamir agreed.”It was the same on the Devastator. His group was called the Olafson Gang and the way they stuck together was unreal.”
The sixth and last person on the table was an older looking Saresii. Silver hair, female appearance and yet, in this case, even an uninitiated observer would have seen the male features in that face. The Saresii wore a dark blue Bio-seal suit which was a good idea on this world joined the conversation without revealing who she was.”There has been an attempt to place a spy inside the Tigershark crew, but that has been unsuccessful. However, I can confirm that uncanny dedication of that crew to this captain.”
--””--
I stepped out of the I.S.T. and onto the bridge, it was three minutes to the change of the watch. The officers and crew members of the Morning watch were ready to be relieved by the Forenoon watch. This was one of those Union Navy traditions I really liked. Things aboard Union ships were done a certain way regardless of what kind of ship it was or where it might be.
The Union Time reform was finally taking hold in most aspects of Union society, but terminology regarding time aboard Union Fleet ships was still the same as it was when the first Union ships left for their missions almost 3000 years ago.
While there was no physical bell on most Union ships and neither on the Tigershark, the crisp ringing sound of a brass bell was sounded at the top of the hour.
The bell sound now announced 0800 hours and the end of Morning watch. Roghor our magnificent looking Togar had stepped down from the command seat, as he had held the Conn.
He spoke with a loud voice that had a distinct hint of pride.”Oh-eight hundred hours. Duty stations prepare for hand over procedures.”
This was exactly as regulations dictated these procedures and while I never openly insisted on these regulations to be observed, it had become one of those special Tigershark traditions. Mainly because we often acted undercover and little things like that reminded us that we were a Union ship.
With me were my senior officers and each of them proceeded to their stations, exchanged the formulaic hand over procedures, which included a short report regarding the current situation.
Roghor did not salute me, as this was not done on the bridge of a Union ship, despite an official regulation. There was an unwritten one that was observed on almost all ships, as far as I knew.
Roghor, had completely recovered from the horrible torture he had to endure, not so long ago. There were quite a few spots of fur that did not have the same level of color and pigmentation as the rest of his fur. The Derma patcher and tissue regrow procedures of medical never considered pigmentation, mainly because it was something that equalized on its own after a while.
But while the spots of treatment and restoration were still visible, it hinted at the terrible ordeal he had to endure.
I could clearly feel that the torture and that experience somehow even deepened his commitment and loyalty to the fleet and of course to the Tigershark. “Morning watch standing down, Captain. There are no unknown contacts on the scanner horizon. We are on course and our estimated time of arrival at Karana star and Deep Blue remains 10:23 hours at current speed. Ship and crew report all green.”
“Thank you Mr.Roghor. I suggest you proceed straight to the Den, Mr.Eeryt has bacon on the morning buffet.”
He growled an exciting sound and short of running, hurried to the left I.S.T.”Thank you, Captain.” He added to his growl and left.
I saw Alice speaking with Shaka and said as she was about to leave too.”So how was your first bridge shift?”
She did not maintain her usual sad expression, but smiled ear to ear.”It was awesome, Captain. Thanks for allowing me to do that, while I am just a Midshipman.”
“It’s not the rank, Ms. Enigma but talent, eagerness and your commitment to duty that made me agree with Mr. Ndebele’s recommendation.”
Har-Hi said.”This is not just a Tigershark thing, Midshipman. Admiral Stahl made Midshipman Olafson acting captain of the Devastator.”
“Really? Awesome!”
I grinned.”You might find yourself holding the Conn at one of these days.”
After this little exchange, I sat down in my Command chair and sighed.”I never thought I would ever want to visit a Thauran world and yet here we are on our way to Deep Blue and on my orders.”
Har-Hi in his usual pose, with crossed arms standing rather than sitting, turned his head to look at me from the side.”Indeed your orders, but we might as well check out the Thauran worlds in this region, they could very well be infected with those lava egg things”
Narth agreed.”The probability finding the presence of Ypeherix pressure manipulators inside Deep Blue is at least 76 percent if not 77 percent, based on the observed dispersion pattern and the age of these devices.”
“I probably should not ask, but out of curiosity, what part of your calculation makes a one percent difference?”
Narth did not lose a second to answer.”There are two factors that are more variable due to the quality of the sources. The number of known affected worlds, the number of potential affected...”
I interrupted.”And I should listen to my own advice. However, the probability is certainly high enough for us to use this as justification to come here.”
Shea added to the conversation.”Did you not already justify this in the log book?”
“Well yes, but the more I am thinking about Sylia’s story the more I feel there is something really fishy going on.”
I could not see Hans, as his station was behind me. He said.”I feel the same way, Captain and I did a little digging. “Sylia’s father was not implicated dealing with the Worm, but the House of Sobur is considered a very influential family, a very dangerous family too.”
“What do you mean by dangerous?”
“That’s not as easy to answer, as there are no official sources that explain this further. However, I spoke with several Union Police contacts and they all said that Thaurans start to button up and stop talking when this family is mentioned. The only comments you might hear after that is a warning that the Sobur’s are dangerous.”
He paused for a moment, I was sure he was reading something, He then continued.”I just got a report from SHERLOCK, the Union Police AI and filed by a Union Police detective named Phil Decker, suspecting the Soburs to be supporters of the Necros.”
Since there was lots of time till we would drop out of Quasi and there was not much going on that required my attention, I got up and walked up to the ramp, past the Nav Tank and approached Hans. “Can you elaborate?”
“He is virtually unknown by the average Union Citizen, but to every policeman and LEO he is a legend just as Stahl. I bet you never heard of Decker, but he is an immortal too.”
“No, I admit I never heard of Decker of him being an immortal. However I was asking about those Necros, what are they?”
“Oh sorry, Captain.” Hans looked embarrassed and then explained.”I am not too familiar with them, I am however uploading more detailed information. As far as understand, it is a sect or cult that worships death. They are known throughout the Galaxy. Legends and unverified sources claim that this cult is led by an immortal being with a god-like status known as the Necro King.”
I didn’t interrupt him and I noticed the rest of my bridge crew was listening too.
Hans kept reading from his display.”The cult has many forms, sub-cults, and names. It exists in almost all known spacefaring societies that have contact with the Galactic society pool. According to expert scholars familiar with the subject, the cult is much older than the Union and has been known to exist by the Saresii of the First Age of Knowledge.”
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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...
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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...
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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Algron, one of the most sophisticated assassins was a Hulhz. His kind perfected the art of killing for over 25,000 years. The Hulhz were known and feared all across their galaxy, and Algron was one of the best. He has been retained by Kilmore, a genuine Knight of Light. He and 41 of the most talented mercenaries, killers and special operations contractors were about to carry out a night-time raid on a hotel. He and the others had crossed via an old Nexus point from Avondur to a galaxy and...