[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]The pilot would live. He was suffering from trauma to the head, severe burns across the right arm and shoulder, and other more minor abrasions and contusions. Ryan felt like crap. But how was he to know?
“This is an expensive way to learn to listen to your master, my apprentice,” Charlie stated, a mild tone of admonition in his voice. “Please, take it to heart. Lawful starflyers never fire on an unidentified craft. You should know better than that from your tour in your sea navy back home. Would you have opened fire on an unidentified aircraft back then?”
Ryan drew in a deep breath, let it out slowly, audibly... “All depends on the rules of engagement, I suppose... where in the world we were operating. But... generally, no... you are right, I was wrong. It won't happen again.”
“Very well, apology accepted... from me anyway...” Charlie motioned toward the invalid wrapped in medical webbing on the steel-colored table. “I hope your apology to him is as well received.” Ryan glanced at the man. He was stout, well-muscled and toned without having the look of steroids about him. His bronzed skin had just a tinge of golden-yellow to it. His close cropped jet black hair, shaved to the skin around the ears, was thick and bristly. He looked tough as nails and fully capable of eating same for breakfast.
“Should I be worried?”
“Perhaps... Quang has a temper at times. He was a R.O.K. Marine before I took him. To save his comrades, he threw himself on a grenade during a live-fire exercise, which technically allowed me to harvest him. And...” he winked at his apprentice with a sorrowful look of pity, “he is proficient in nearly every combat technique your planet knows... and by now some it does not know, I suspect...”
“Ah... maybe I should just pack my bags and run... or... can we just pull the plug on him...?”
“I assume that was a bad joke, Ryan.”
Assume away, Ryan thought. The Republic of Korea Marines were one of the only military units that the U.S. Marines respected enough in a fight to consider them their equals. He sure hoped this guy had a sense of humor.
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]They towed the wounded ship, Pam-sae, to one of the larger moons orbiting Coerndite. There they allowed time for it to repair itself, for it was just like Saar'floe in that regard. Quang never came out of the coma the entire three days they were there. So Ryan was instructed to fly Saar'floe in line astern behind Charlie in Pam-sae. They left the system and headed toward Quang's home base, an artificial world in the Urte System. It would take three traverses to get there...
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Urtyre was a wonder to behold, an amazing feat of astronautical engineering! It was a world like nothing Ryan could have imagined...
Sitting astride an important trade lane, Urtyre was originally constructed to fulfill a dual purpose: convenient resupply of ships and strategic control of a vital artery of federation space. Since its completion, however, it had grown into a world teaming with life, housing several hundred million people. Nearly all of the races of humanoids were represented there, for this was the very heart of the Ka'Osafete Federation. As such, it was the main headquarters of its navy.
Now Urte was a trinary system, having three suns, and their combined light created quite a show. The celestial beauty of it was somewhat lost on Ryan, however, as he strained to get his first clear glimpse of Urtyre. Charlie had brazenly touted the magnificence of this artificial world and so his apprentice was dying to lay eyes on it. Unfortunately, his first look produced as much confusion as it did clarity and more than a little disappointment. She appeared to be nothing more than a funnel with a long spike sticking out from her center. Undeterred, he continued to look on and her image gradually sharpened enough to make out more of the details of her construction.
There was another section just aft, or sun-ward, of the funnel. It had wide, flattened sides and was spinning independently of the forward section, which appeared to be quite stationary. He could make out large flat ovals adorning its far lip, which appeared to be completely exposed to the suns of Urte.
Ryan glanced now along the length of the mast, for that is what the spike had turned into. Mooring buoys speckled its length, and a fleet of immense ships were stationed there. He counted twenty-five of them lined up like sleek greyhounds awaiting the starting gun. The contours of these monsters were quite different from the small silver inbound crescents. Ryan looked at the closest dreadnought, studied it minutely. It was a long cigar with flattened multi-faceted sides of strangely chimera-like hue. They were literally encrusted with strange devices... or were they weapons...? He couldn't be sure, but these were undoubtedly warships of the mighty Federation Navy.
Now they closed on the structure itself – Saar'floe following Pam-sae's lead – heading toward the apex of the funnel, which had blossomed into a huge spaceport. Ryan could make out an incredible honeycomb of hanger bays there, a barrage of crescents darting hither and yon, like fastidious little worker bees carrying honey to the queen.
“Standby here and let me get clearance for us to dock,” Charlie's voice reverberated through the bridge air, coming seemingly from everywhere at once. Ryan smiled. It had caused his heart to jump into his mouth the first time he had heard it, sounded like the voice of God, bouncing off the bulkheads like it did. Now he was used to it – amazing what you could get used to...!
“Sure boss,” he conceded, still ogling the huge ships looming menacingly on all sides. Man, what he wouldn't give for a camera...
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Ryan was having an absolute blast! He had spent some memorable times at renown vacation spots back on Earth... Maui, St. Thomas, Vegas... but Urtyre certainly took top honors in that regard!
The aft section that he had viewed from space was actually the colony itself. If you can imagine a ring band about sixty miles wide and some five thousand in circumference, you would be picturing the basic structure. One end narrowed into the funnel that lead to the spaceport, while the other was ostensibly open to the glorious trio of stars that fed sunlight into the colony. Ostensibly, for there was actually a thick transparent surface covering that end, which was blacked-out once every eighteen hours. This cast the colony into darkness for eight hours once a day. (The transition was even graduated so that there appeared to be a definitive dusk and dawn period.)
The inhabitants lived on the inside of this spinning hollow band in what Ryan would have called bedroom communities. These were all located against the far lip, closest to the suns. On the inner side, closer to the funnel was an amazing variety of sights and facilities. These ranged from nature parks to amusement parks, gaming facilities to museums, restaurants to entertainment clubs... Ryan felt like a nineteen-year-old sailor on liberty again! His boss was highly generous with the credits, giving the apprentice plenty with which to enjoy himself and he put them to good use.
The parks were decked out in the flora and fauna of alien worlds, representative of the vast diversity making up the federation. The people, while all humanoid, were another diverse feature of Urtyre. And he got to know most of the twenty-six recognized races of Ka'Ossafetti – many of them quite handsome! (He was particularly fond of the Jeraiseans. They were a dark, golden-hued people with sparkling eyes that reminded Ryan of garnets and lustrous flaming red hair naturally streaked with platinum. Their ladies were the most beautiful of any he had ever seen, although looking was as far as he went.) Eight days after they had landed, however, his good time came to an abrupt end. Quang came out of his coma.
Mr. Liu woke up and then Mr. Liu got up, promptly breaking a medical assistant's nose for trying to prohibit it. The infirmary notified Charlie of the trouble and the two of them headed that direction immediately, effectively bringing to an ugly end a lovely time...
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]Quang Liu was lounging in mid-air, casually looking at a reader console. (The latter being a hand-held 5x8 electronic device used to read periodicals, manuals and the like.) He gave off a truly passive impression, like someone that was not interested at all in giving anyone a hard time about anything. Only the three armed personnel at the entrance belied that notion. These were dressed in what Ryan had come to know as Federation Naval uniforms – a black jumpsuit with diagonal gold stripes running from a starburst emblem at the heart down to the right hip, from there to sweep up across the back in an intricate arabesque pattern. Each carried a short plasma weapon strapped to their forearm. He had seen these wicked things in action in news-pieces and documentaries back on Dalca'odge. They were quick, brutal and effective in close combat, having both lethal and non-lethal capacities.
Charlie spoke briefly to one of the uniformed men, allowed his palm to be scanned, then was granted entry. Ryan sought to follow but was firmly barred until his boss vouched for him. Then they both walked cautiously toward the unconcerned marine, who had not even deigned to look up, still levitating nonchalantly in the corner.
“Quang,” Charlie spoke when it became obvious that the patient wouldn't. “How are you feeling?” This got his attention. Apparently, he had simply been totally absorbed in his reading. Now he looked up, a wide grin slipping onto his face.
“Old master...!” he cried warmly, slid onto his feet and strode purposefully across to embrace Charlie. “I am so very glad to see you again!”
“I am glad to see you are well,” his old master rejoined. “We were worried about you after the... er... incident...”
“Yes... I am sure...” then his eyes went to Charlie's companion. “And is this your latest apprentice?”
“I am,” Ryan stated boldly, extending his right hand. “My name is Ryan Manniks.”
“Ah... an American...?”
“Yes... well, I was... I guess I am Ka'Ossefetti now... like you...”
“Indeed...” he took the hand and pumped it vigorously once, squeezing just enough to make Ryan worry about a broken bone. “And are you the pilot I have to thank for my injuries...?”
Ryan sighed mentally. Here was the moment of truth. Well, no sense in dodging the question, he deserved to know. “Sorry, yes I was... didn't realize who you were...” His sentence was cut short by Quang's next movement. He leaped bodily at Ryan and grabbed him by both shoulders, one vise-like hand gripping either, and shook him briefly then stepped back.
“You are a fine pilot... a fine pilot...!” he laughed with genuine mirth, then folded his arms. “You know that we must do that again, yes?” His eyes twinkled with mischief, “...when I am more prepared.”
Ryan stood uncertain before him, then shrugged and remarked. “Anytime you like, Quang... but... next time I will know that it is a game and not to shoot holes in you...”
“Aha... yes...” he said, enigmatic smile still flirting with his lips, “but will I...?”
At this Ryan raised a brow until Quang began to shake with laughter again. “But no... we will be best friends... You will see... I am proud to have someone to spar with in the stars...” he jerked a hooked thumb at Charlie. “I love my old master but he has no real heart for the game...”
“Ah... well... I guess.. I do... but sorry about your ship and... your... wounds...” Ryan trailed off, didn't really know what else to say...
Quang stared at him, finally nodded his head then turned to Charlie. “I like this one, Master Erzo'acteru... he has iron in his belly... he may actually live...”
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]It was a dilemma. Obviously the item had been left intentionally for the investigators to find. But who had left it? And could they be trusted?
After the visit with Quang, Charlie and Ryan had gone back to their accommodations, a very nice suite overlooking one of the other-worldly nature parks. Attached to it was a game-hall where festivities occurred around the clock. It was a favorite of his master, but they were both more tired and hungry now than anything else. Accordingly, they opted to stop by their room and then to go get something to eat. They were planning on calling it an early night, get some rest. Charlie was anxious to be away now that Quang was going to be okay... then he found the mysterious item.
“What is that?” Ryan asked, staring at the three-inch long rod that his boss was studying carefully, turning it over and over in his hand. “It looks like a pen of some type...”
“Yes... a laser scribe. But who left it...?”
Ryan shrugged. The master turned the device toward the wall and activated it. A tiny stream of crimson light flew from the end of it and fell on the bare wall. Ka'Ossafetti ideograms suddenly began to appear, as if being etched in its surface by an invisible hand. Ryan was entranced by the process, the intricate characters slowly formed one after another. He had no way of knowing what it said, for his knowledge of Ka'Ossafetti writing was minimal – only that required for the understanding of the various labels around the ship – but it was still quite amazing to watch the ornate hieroglyphics scribe themselves onto the bare wall. Soon a paragraph of several lines stood there. Charlie turned off the pen and silently mouthed the words as he read it to himself. He finished and turned to his apprentice, wide-eyed.
“Well,” Ryan finally blurted out. “Are you going to tell me what it says...?”
“It says there is a shipment that must be interdicted en route to Hei'a 12... an illegal shipment... of humanoids. Then it gives the time and place of departure along with estimated time of arrival...”
“An informant...?”
“Seems as if... but...”
“But what... this is a good thing...”
“Yes, but what if it is a trap...?”
Ryan frowned. “There you go... ruining it for me...”
Charlie glanced back at the wall; the writing was slowly fading. “Whomever left this knows that we are investigating the Baeliwiks. That does not bode well. If they know – and assuming they are not Baeliwiks themselves – perhaps the ones we are investigating know as well. We must watch ourselves carefully from here on out. These people are fanatical about their convictions.”
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]The target ship was proceeding as expected, right on schedule. Saar'floe was drifting like interstellar flotsam in the asteroid field surrounding the vortex the other ship had just traversed. Charlie assured Ryan she would be invisible to all sensors as long as her engines were dead, her systems set to minimal life support.
The two now watched the craft intently through the bridge window. It was a very large disc crowned by a glowing bridge section, the typical design of a Ka'Ossafetti transport. It seemed to be drifting aimlessly. It always took several moments for even seasoned crewmen to regain their senses once they came through a vortex. Once they did – if they set course for Hei'a 12 – they would assume it was the ship they were after. It pretty much had to be; the Sedrepfahn System was too far off the beaten path. You had to be going there to get there.
Sure enough, after a short spell the mystery vessel began to accelerate in the direction of the gas giant: Hei'a. That's when Saar'floe made her presence known. Charlie sprang into action, diving on the target, firing a burst of plasma across the front of the bridge, announcing his ability and intent to use deadly force if necessary. Then he hailed the ship and ordered it to stop in the name of federation law. This, Ryan later learned, was procedural; it indicated that he was a duly-appointed investigator.
The ship, ignoring the hail, never hesitated but began to zig-zag wildly in an obvious attempt to elude pursuit. Charlie took off hot on her trail, mimicking the crazy flight path of the fleeing disc and Saar'floe closed gradually, began firing bursts that knocked sparks and current from the vessel's aft shields. Soon she had burned through the shields there and was now scorching sections of the bare hull. Then Charlie ceased his attack and fell away, just short of breaching her.
“What are you doing...?!” Ryan asked, exasperated, alarmed by the master's sudden reticence to continue the battle.
“If what we suspect has merit, there are innocent humanoids aboard... Pella'agrenes... your people, as you call them. I do not think you would want me to harm any of them... and neither would I.”
“Okay then... what's the plan...?”
“Follow them. Once they land on Hei'a 12 we will have the evidence we need... we can land and search their vessel.”
“Oh... good idea...” Ryan would have fouled that one up. He was always prone to shoot when in doubt. Hmmm... probably why he had not opted to join the Portland Police Department after his hitch in the service. And now he was some kind of interstellar cop... Who would'a thunk it...? he mused shaking his head in wonderment, watching Charlie back off just enough to allow the target to think it was getting away...
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]We are legal investigators... tracking a suspicious vessel to your installation. Please standby to receive us. Charlie said, then closed out the communications link, not waiting for a reply. He turned to Ryan. Let us prepare for landing. Then we must arm ourselves...
Ryan's mind went back to his sojourn on Pella'agre, when he was in dire need of a weapon. He remembered searching but could not locate any on the ship. We have small arms aboard...?
Indeed, but until now they have been inaccessible to you... I must take care with my new apprentices... Charlie threw on a sardonic grin, some of them have a penchant for violence.
Yes... Ryan smirked and rolled his eyes, I suppose they would. Now why would anyone rudely shang-haied from their home-world, with never so much as a 'by your leave', be prone to violence? He shook his head and looked back out the bridge window.
Saar'floe was closing on the moon, Hei'a 12. It was an ice-world, roughly two-thirds the size of Earth. The jagged peaks of crusty mountains thrust up through a spidery white fog that drifted aimlessly across the surface, effectively obscuring much of the detail at ground level. They could, however, easily make out the comm-tower of the archaeological installation and, accordingly, locked onto it. Now the swirling breath of the moon flew away on a gentle breeze and a low, single story rectangular building hove into view. Charlie relinquished command, motioned for Ryan to set her down, and promptly left the bridge.
Ryan took the helm and flew Saar'floe around the installation in a wide, lazy semi-circle, finding the landing pad easily, three other grounded ships giving away its location. (He noted one was the vessel they were after.) Flashing lights limned the circumference of the area wherein they were expected to land. He brought Saar'floe to a hover there and gently settled her onto the pad.
About that time, Charlie came back onto the bridge with a pair of the forearm weapons. Let me go over the operations of these before we disembark, he said. There may be need for you to know how they work.
Yeah... I agree... Ryan said, then focused on what his master was saying, subconsciously making a mental note to try and curtail his baser instincts to shoot too quickly...
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]My name is Leurraij'ha, she said with the most beautiful smile Ryan had ever seen in his life. She was obviously Pella'agrene, as evidenced by her long, wheat-colored hair. It flowed down her back in an incredible river with tributaries spilling across either shoulder down to her waist, running through creamy bands of ornately carved bone in its course. Her luminous pale blue eyes were moist almonds tilted just slightly at the outer corners. These features, along with her long, willowy body, made her race unmistakable to any man that had spent time amongst the Segatchwe, as had Ryan.
Looorrr-AY-juh-hah... My, my... but that is a mouthful, isn't it? Can we... shorten it some...? She did not answer but just continued to smile at him. Can I call you Laura? That would be much easier on my American mouth. I mean, the way you pronounce it is quite lovely but I am afraid I would just continue to butcher it badly.
She nodded her head ever so slightly. Yes, you may call me that.
Good. My name is Ryan Manniks.
May I call you Rezla'astex...?
Um... I suppose. Why do you want to call me that?
It was the name of a young goat I had when I was a girl back in my village... I grew quite fond of it until... she trailed off.
Until...?
...until the sacrifice.
Ryan was taken aback. She wanted to name him after a pet goat that her family had slaughtered. He needed a psychiatrist to figure that one out. He shook off the thought. He was incapable of deciphering it at the moment anyway; his head was fogged with either medication or sickness or both. I guess one good turn deserves another, he conceded. Yes, you may call me that if you wish.
At that she laughed merrily, a truly melodious tune that lifted Ryan's heart immeasurably. See... I jest with you, sir. I will call you Ryan.
He smiled. It was nice to know she had a sense of humor. He hadn't seen much evidence of it amongst the Segatchwe, but then the circumstances they had faced while he was with them left little to laugh about. He looked back up into her beautiful face. Can I ask you a question?
Yes.
Where am I...?
Why... you are at the archaeological site on Hei'a 12, she assured him, patting him on the arm gently. Now rest some.
What happened to me...? and where is Charlie...?
Charlie...? I know no Charlie... You must rest. All your questions will be answered in short order. With this she fiddled with something below the table upon which he was resting and he softly sank back into a deep slumber.
[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]That night, as every night, he dreamed heavily. Laura was always the crux of these phantasms.
During the day she was his only visitor. But she was there constantly, to feed him, to bathe him, to minister to his every need. Sometimes, in his fevered state, they would talk for hours, her holding his hand like an angelic nursemaid.
Laura was compliant, seemingly honest, more than willing to fill in any of the details he required. She hadn't known his master as 'Charlie' but rather as Master Erzo'acteru. He was also sick. There had been an epidemic breakout in the Hei'a 12 installation. The scientists suspected either something brought in on a ship or something unearthed by the excavations. The Federation had ordered a quarantine but work was being done around the clock to find a cure. Meanwhile the best thing for Ryan was rest, he was assured.
Meanwhile, every night she continued to come to him in his dreams, which became increasingly erotic. She came in the darkness, her lithe body clad in laced leather, seduction glowing in her lovely eyes, visible by the single candle she carried. Initially, they engaged in mere flirtations, touching, caressing, snuggling together... then long, deep, wet kisses... And finally, they began to engage in heavier sexual activity, eventually culminating in intercourse.
But it was all a dream. Ryan knew it was all a dream. For all of his life was a dream now... just one long feverish dream...