Pertumit Garundi 13

“Ellora Grace, do you read?” Fred’s voice cut through the suit com’s overlapping conversations.

“Right here, Fred, just follow the beacons.”  I’ve never been so happy to see my ship as Winter cast out a grappler to snag the metal fuselage and I followed the line all the way to the airlock.

I yanked my helmet off the sec the lock cycled through. “Don’t cast it off! These nasty little things don’t seem to like it for some reason.”

Winter had her hand on the eject/retract button, and she shot me a quizzical look before her expression morphed into one of horror. “Mehariet shuushoneki, is that what I think it is?” She pointed to the mine encased in its housing.  It was still inert although I’d placed it on the metal floor of the ship when I pulled off the ill-fitting envirosuit. 

“Yes, and I don’t know what this is protecting us or how it came to be, but I’ll take it for now.  We should take this thing to Marion; he might be able to determine if it is a lifeform.”

Winter looked physically ill for a nano.  She recovered swiftly though and shoved the case with the mine into a containment capsule and activated the field.  The blue glow enveloped the clear plexisteel container effectively placing the mine into stasis.  “Warn me next time you bring any Bildarthian chuksa on this ship.” Winter glared at me and stalked off leaving me to reel in the rest of the payload.

“Hello to you too, glad you are safe,” I muttered under my breath.

“I am happy you are safe.” Fred chimed in softly.

I sighed. “Thanks.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What in the seven hells is that?” Marion took one look at the containment canister and the grim expression on Winter’s face. 

L’Marchonase wore an equally grim expression. “Well, cousin, I’m hoping you can tell us.”

He walked all the way around the canister shaking his head.  “This is one of those mines, isn’t it?  You sent one of your insane chuksa Mentari out there to…”

I didn’t let him finish. “I took the Ni’chine ship after I’d discovered what they were carrying in their cargo hold.  I also discovered that one of their slaves wasn’t what it said it was.  My intent was to capture the imposter posing as a human, but the mines disintegrated his escape pod.  I saw an opportunity and used it.” I lifted my chin to stare at him. He blinked at me but wisely said nothing.

“This form does not like a piece of metal from the ship.  I think it wise to get a metallurgy and spectrometer team to look at the chunk to find out why.  In the meantime, I think whatever it is wrapped in holds it inert so be careful with the material.”

Marion slowly nodded his head.  “I’ll run an analysis on the wrappings first.  I’ll let you know what I find shortly.”

We left him conversing with his techs and headed for the battle bridge conference room. “My man in the Kerlian parliament should be ready to report.” L’Marchonase looked tense and as we entered the room I could see why.

The man with the shaggy dark hair and green prosthetic eye sat drumming his fingers on the redwood table.  He didn’t look like a diplomat dressed in a long duster coat made of Parchense duja leather.  His eyes were almond-shaped and only the deepening wrinkles around them betrayed his age.  He held his mouth strangely like his lips were overly extended at the corners.  My overall impression made me think about my elfin cousins back on Altamira.  When he stood, he was easily as tall as Winter. His glance slid over the both of us and he gave a slight nod to Winter.

Winter didn’t react.  She took her seat and folded her hands in her lap.  I sat down in one of the chairs behind her but close enough where I could hear the conversation. L’Marchonase gestured for him to begin.

He nodded. “The Kerlian Viseur and the primary adjudicator, called the Glazier, are rumored to have invested heavily into a project which needs the supply of Garundi amber to be profitable.  While the amber does produce a notable euphoric effect, their leaders have found a way to increase the effects of the amber, perhaps to use as a narcotic or for medical anesthesia.  If so, my contacts believe they intend to market the drug to their own people and export the remainder either legally for medical use or illegally as a party drug.  I heard a rumor, but have no proof of, a contact within the Hideku to move the meds off-world. 

Winter shifted in her seat but made no comment.

“I have also heard the labs creating these drugs are not on Kerlian but are in orbit.  Allegedly, they have two built and two still under construction.  The Viseur and Glazier siphoned off funds from off-world exports and import taxes to create the labs.  The discrepancy was noted by their consular staff but written off as an armament deal gone bad with the Sambrosians and a new race called the Trangee. I do not think the Kerlian parliament is aware of the depth of the embezzlement.”

“That sounds like a large-scale operation and one hard to hide.” L’Marchonase frowned.

“I thought so too, but they’ve acquired technology from somewhere that hides the labs from conventional detection. My guess is it must be the Trangee.  I’ve never heard of them before, and in my experience, the Sambrosians don’t have the kind of technology to hide orbital platforms.”

L’Marchonase nodded. “Were you able to find out any information about missing ships?  The transit authority seems to keep poor records.” He made a face indicting his disgust.

Diargento thumbed the controls on the table.  “My contacts weren’t specific, and this is a little out of their league.  But they did indicate there is a general wariness to travel beyond the buoy boundaries marking the main routes here, and here.” He marked the holo map with a stylus indicating a blank section of space.

Winter nodded and L’Marchonase’s frown deepened.  “Seems you were correct, Winter.  They have one way in and one way out just like we would.”

Diargento glanced at Winter. “This wouldn’t have something to do with those mines I’ve been hearing about?”

L’Marchonase sighed. “I expected Skelly to fill you in.  Did he tell you we captured one and are working on developing a countermeasure?”

Diargento grinned and he had a fair number of prosthetic teeth inlaid with auran. “He told me about the mines.  You’ve found a way to neutralize it already?”

L’Marchonase’s shrug was both poetic, practical, and indicated nothing beyond what Diargento apparently already knew.

Diargento left shortly thereafter, whistling to himself, and I thought, “There goes an extremely dangerous man.”

Winter apparently agreed with my unvoiced thought. “Enri, he’s trouble.  Valoise and the Ebroni woman are plotters, but they are essentially too greedy for their own good.  That one,” She indicated the departed Diargento with her hand, “Is the zagritzah at the bottom of the cistern.  He’s biding his time.”

L’Marchonase sighed heavily. “I know. The only reason I’m still Grand Captain of this fleet is that he and Skelly have not moved against me.  Those two are intelligent men and they also know they stand to make a lot of money because each of my crazy plans has worked…in the past.  I’m only as good as the next score, and we need to make one soon to keep the smaller ships in line.  He knows it too.” L’Marchonase’s com chimed, and he answered.  He made some non-committal noises and commed off.  “Marion’s found something.  He’ll be up.”

I used the intervening few chronos to visit the ‘fresher and smooth out my hair.  When I emerged, Winter and L’Marchonase were deep into a discussion of drone harassment tactics and how to use both ends of the bottleneck against the Garundis and Kerlians.  Marion rushed in, threw himself in a chair, and immediately dialed up a carafe of cafcocoa from the culinary dispenser.  He grabbed the thermocup, took a big swig, winced at the heat, and swallowed rapidly.  He waved the cup at me.

“You’re not going to believe this.  The reason why the mine is currently inert and why it doesn’t like the chunk of the wreckage is because both are organic matter.  I think I am looking at egg protein…well I know I am because the metal section of the ship is from the Ni’chine birthing well.”

I blinked. Ni’chine lay eggs? Birthing wells?

He must have read the expression on my face. “I know, it was a surprise to me too.  Our lady of cryogenic storage laid eggs recently because she has the egg brooding patch visible on her lower abdomen.”

“I didn’t see any eggs on the ship.” Not that I could have found them in the mess. 

“I don’t know a lot about the Ni’chine,” L’Marchonase spoke up, “But I do know those two weren’t a brooding pair.  I got the impression one was a hatchling of the other.”

Marion nodded. “I got the impression as well, which means the brood was brought on by something else.  They would have used the eggs for food, or randomly smashed the shells if the mood struck them.”

That would explain the smell. I wrinkled my nose. Winter remained impassive.

“I have a hypothesis based on the organic matter on the ship’s metal and the pouch around the mine.  They are both made of embryonic protein, although I couldn’t tell you what lifeform created the pouch and the protective barrier around the mine though.  I want to do a quantum dissection on the mine but rather than do it here on the Siren, we’d need to set me up on a disposable ship.”

L’Marchonase shook his head. “I would like to know the function of those mines as much as you do.  But you know how I feel about risking members of my immediate family.”

“Enri, you said the crews are restless.  Every rotation we wait, the certainty of mutiny becomes closer to reality.  How many people on this ship know I am your cousin? Entirely too many, and I knew it would come out at some point.  I am a liability to you, and you know it.”

Winter stood, and I stood with her. “You have much to discuss, Enri. We should leave you…”

“No.” L’Marchonase indicated the chair and Winter slowly sat back down leaving me to creep back into my seat. “My cousin and I can debate this later. While Marion is here, you,” He pointed at Winter, “Should narrate the fight with the Ni’chine for me.”

“Enri, I don’t…” Winter trailed off as the security footage from the fight was displayed on the holo system in the middle of the table.

The security Eyes caught Winter in one of the Siren’s lower cantinas drinking steadily and watching a newsie holo on her tabletop.  She clearly minded her own business and did not even appear to notice when the Ni’chine and their two mounts entered the bar.  The Eye moved forward a solis and it was clear the Ni’chine acted drunk and belligerent.  They insulted the bar staff, deliberately dropped drinks, and acted with hostility toward everyone.  In time, they were joined by two heavily hooded figures who appeared to be drinking less and intentionally chiding the Ni’chine for their lack of ability to bring in a live Hashtaaleen. The audio feed from the Ears in the bar fought through the ambient noise and provided a translation streamer at the bottom of the holo.

I didn’t tell Winter what I’d seen on the ship.  I didn’t even know how I’d broach the subject.  I wasn’t sure I could, either.  So, I sat and watched as the taller of the hooded individuals approached Winter’s table.  The two Ni’chine dismounted and chained their humans to the bag and chattel hooks under the table.  They circled around behind Winter while the tall, hooded humanoid spilled his drink all over her.  The second hooded one waited until Winter appeared distracted by the sudden bath in alcohol before plowing into her from behind.  The two Ni’chine drew their knives and dove on top of Winter.  The hooded ones attempted to hold her down while the Ni’chine presumably tried to saw off her head.  They only got ragged chunks of hair as Winter twisted out of the grip of the hooded ones and sprung the catch on her stave.  Winter slammed the business end of the weapon into the face of one of the Ni’chine and she howled as her eye was wrenched free of its socket and thrown across the room.  The hooded humanoids wisely backed off and disappeared into the crowd, leaving the Ni’chine to fend for themselves.  Stupidly, they continued to attack Winter and she dispatched them in a few chronos.  Winter pulled the drink bulb from the socket on the table and left the bodies on the floor of the cantina.  The Eye caught the hooded humanoids standing outside in the gathered crowd and watched as Winter staggered away. 

I saw it, and I am sure Winter saw it too although it was in the holo for only half a nanosec.  The cowl of the taller of the two hooded ones slipped exposing a flash of a colorful facial tattoo.

Valoise!

I’m sure Winter must have thought so too. She turned to me, tilted her head, and shrugged.  “I wish I could tell you what happened but, I don’t remember any of this, Enri.” She looked back at him and gave him a closed-lipped smile. 

I knew the expression on her face though even if L’Marchonase didn’t.  We were going to pay the captain of Siren fleet ship Sausenty-Une a visit soon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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Pertumit Garundi 10

“Get us ready to clear out.” I barked into my com to Fred.  Winter looked ashen and swayed on her feet.  I all but pushed her down the still, (thank Oberonae and Dantiana,) deserted corridors of the Silver Siren.  I dragged her aboard and cycled the lock.  Fred sent a hovbed and I pushed Winter onto it, even though she protested.  Her complaint was feeble though as she rolled onto her side with a groan.  I got her to our small medical bay and let the machines do the diagnostic work.  The slice on the abdomen only needed swabbing and anti-bac.  The claw marks required sutures.  The cut on her face needed both anti-bac and micro sutures.  The botdoc started fluids for dehydration, and additional analgesics, as her core temperature was elevated.

How it knew what the core temperature of a Hashtaaleen was, I had no idea.  I assumed at some point, Winter must have provided biometric data to Fred’s diagnostic sensors and the bot could use that information for comparison. When I look at Winter, and if I didn’t know her, I would assume she was a taller-than-average human woman.  But there are small things about her that make it obvious her biology is different.  She has gills for one.  They are hardly noticeable but when you look closely at the sides of her throat, you can see the thin red line where her gill slits are visible.  She has slight webbing on her fingers, which like the gills, wouldn’t be all that pronounced unless she was in the water, I guess.  She has round pupils that tighten down into slits, like those of a feline.  She also has a nictitating membrane in her eye and I’m not sure of its function.  I can see the pupil response as useful in low-light situations.

 I think the scariest thing about her is the fangs.  She has a humanoid set of teeth, but she also has a secondary set of canines that extend down over or maybe under, I’ve never gotten a good look at them.  Narellian told me once her caste was born half in and half out of the water. Narellian also told me she should give up running around the galaxy and settle down with him, as there were not enough free Hashtaali in the universe.

I can imagine what she thinks of that idea.  She tolerates Narellian but I don’t think she likes him much.  To me, he’s an insufferable bore, an elitist, and woefully ignorant of anything outside his specialty. He’s lucky I suppose.  He’s not a product of the Hashtaaleen ghettos, Finral’s World, and Darbulatan.

The botdoc let Winter out of the infirmary and she staggered onto the bridge. “Are we going somewhere?” She rubbed her nose, and blood stained her fingertips.

“Under the circumstances? I think we should let them deal with it.  Now, Ualune sounds like a great idea.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure L’Marchonase could pull it off.  Old Bildarthian mines didn’t sound like a lucrative deal to me.

Winter half slid half-collapsed into her navigation couch.  “Fred, power down. We aren’t leaving.” She sighed.

“What? Care to explain why?” I put my hands on my hips and stared incredulously at her. “You got the chucksa beaten out of you, they’re dealing with a bunch of greedy idiots as far as I can tell, and frankly, I’ve heard about the Bildarthian tendency to mine the sojoni out of a sector and forget about them…until some unfortunate ship happens to find them.”

Winter raised her eyebrows. “Where have you heard about Bildarthian technology before?  I think it is safe to say, you and I have never discussed it.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Around. Ships gossip, stuff like that.”  I didn’t want to tell her Darryl and I both knew Winter talked in her sleep.  She also sleepwalks which is why Fred has the override command to lock her in her cabin.  Darryl didn’t want her to have an episode, sleepwalk to the bridge, and change our course headings in the navicomputer.  Not that Fred wouldn’t catch it in time, but she could theoretically program him to ignore any other commands but hers.  Darryl wasn’t too enthralled with the idea of flying into a supernova. Fred often translated what Winter said if he understood the dialect, but only Darryl heard that part.  She’d tell me if she thought it was interesting enough. Darryl thought BB mines did bear mentioning, although I read enough from my father’s archive on Bildarthian weaponry to know what kind of havoc the weapons would cause with a ship’s systems.

I contemplated killing Darryl myself if I ever met her again at this point. Leaving us in debt was one thing, leaving me to deal with Winter’s eccentricities was unconscionable.

Winter studied me and I resisted the impulse to look at the floor.  She narrowed her eyes, and I got the impression she was probing me.  Understand the Violeteer do have telepathic and telekinetic abilities, although I’m not adept at either skill.  I’ve never heard if the Hashtaaleen had such abilities or not. I think Winter might be good at reading expressions, so I kept my guileless simpleton face on and ducked my head when she finally looked away.

“So, you would cut and run anyway? What if that was your family then?” She wasn’t looking at me, she was studying the navigational display on her console and seemed to be reviewing a star chart. 

I wondered how much she already knew about me and if this was a loaded question.  I also tried to decide how to answer without her working out I’d been listening in on her conversation with L’Marchonase. 

“They aren’t your family.  You said so yourself.” I went to my acceleration couch and sat down but didn’t strap in.

“Ah so, Marion Trafalgar regaled you with tales about his ancestor, hasn’t he?” Winter shifted her seat so she could look at me.

I decided the truth would be the wisest course.  “He mentioned he and L’Marchonase were cousins, and they were related to the Yeltsin Boudreaux family and the pirate entrepreneur John Trafalgar.”

Winter nodded her head and her expression turned contemplative.  “His name was Emerson Boudreaux.  He took the name John Trafalgar when he was framed for murder.  He was sent to the mines for his crime and was disowned by his family.  He was married to Misandre LeBranau who thought he was having an affair with her sister.  He wasn’t but she framed him for her murder.  Misandre was mentally ill, and it became obvious before it was all over,  she was the one who killed her sister.  She also tried to kill her three children with Emerson by spacing them.  Fortunately, someone had left a suit in the airlock, and all three of them got in it before the lock cycled open.  They were saved by their uncle who heard them screaming into the suit’s com. The Boudreaux’s were harsh in disowning Emerson. They forced him into an arranged marriage with a LeBranau as a political move and then because of their embarrassment over the whole murder charge disowned him.  Their collective guilt over believing Misandre over their own son is still obvious today.  I wonder if it is because of the mess with Misandre or because he made them rich after the fact. Anyway, while in the mines, he discovered the Kaprosian natives were treated appallingly by their LeBranau administrators.  He escaped with the help of his Kaprosian crew and created havoc for the LeBranau, Dellacroix, and Rossenal families who were the primary owners of Kaprosian slaves in the mines.  He laid the groundwork for the consortium by including friendly human families and Kaprosians in the organization of his network.  They eventually broke LDR Holdings Ltd by destroying their ore haulers and defense ships.  Emerson left the flagship to direct the battle himself and did not return.” Winter sounded far away, and her voice was soft.

“You were there.” I knew I was stating the obvious, but Winter nodded anyway. I had a sudden epiphany.  Winter helped coordinate the battle and probably had a lot of influence on Emerson Boudreaux. No wonder L’Marchonase had instructed Narellian to contact Winter if he saw himself as her spiritual great-grandson.  He already knew from somewhere…a family memoir probably, what she had accomplished with Emerson and what her role had been with John Trafalgar’s outfit.  “You said yourself you weren’t related to them, so…”

“I’m not, but I am.  I can’t let Emerson’s grandsons die because they did not have enough experience with Bildarthian weaponry.  I can’t do it.” She looked at me directly and she had that intense expression in her eyes.  “You can though.  You can walk away.  Take the Fred, go wherever you want.  But, know this, Ellora Grace, whatever you run from will eventually catch up to you.  Trust me.  I know.”  She bent her head and began entering commands into the navicomp as her couch moved around to face the main screens. 

I recognized the star system she programmed as it flashed up on the screens.  “Ualune. You’re sending me back to Ualune.” I blinked at her in disbelief.

“Well, you can change the registry of the Fred there and probably find a new crew for any freight hauling enterprise. Unless you’d like to go to Altamira?”

“Uh. No.” She wasn’t looking at me, but I had the strangest feeling, almost like a premonition she knew exactly why we’d avoided Altamira all these cerens and she knew who and what I was.  It was the crawly sensation on the back of my neck and my arms, the same ones I had during my visions that stopped me from commenting further.

“All right then. Let me get my gear.  Fred, transfer all command codes to Ellora Grace.”  She stood up, wobbled a bit, and grabbed the back of the chair to steady herself. “I’d avoid Rangolin, Parchense, Dar-est-tellat, and Cahraehn, because Darryl left them hanging and they’d take the Fred in a heartbeat no matter who owns him.” She made it to the door. “Oh, and avoid Chimdee and the Hiden at all costs. Chimdee’s the Hidese homeworld but their influence is everywhere.  Never get involved with them if you can possibly help it.” She started to walk out but poked her head back in. “Our passenger in the hold should probably be taken to a free Hashtaaleen colony if you can find one.”

I was out of my chair and running down the hallway after her. “Wait! A passenger? Why in the seven hells didn’t you tell me!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The child in the strangely designed pod was hardly more than an infant, at least that is how it looked to me.  Winter opened the craft with an external keycode and peeled back the covering on the pod so I could look at the face of the sleeping baby.  “Is that…?

Winter nodded. “We call them Frost Children.  In the latter stage of the war, desperate Hashtaali parents gave their children up to the hibernation beds.  Scores of them were smuggled off Hashtaal with many of them ending up on Finral’s or Darbulatan.  Such was their parent’s desperation that they knew they were condemning their child to a life of slavery.  But life as a slave was better than death.”

Not the best rationale, I thought, but then I’d never experienced anything remotely like it so I should not make judgments on a people long turned to dust.

“This Frost Child was found in the wreckage of a ship.  It had been purchased by …well, an important personage from The Realm as a companion for its own child, provided it could be thawed and make a viable playmate.  Someone found out about the purchase and re-directed the capsule to me.”

I stared at her. “And why would they do that, Winter?”

She shrugged. “I did a favor for some old friends.” She turned to leave the hold. “Probably as good a  reason as any to avoid The Realm for a while too.  There could have been media coverage of the theft since these old capsules are also considered archeological artifacts.  I understand some museums would like to acquire relics like these.” She strolled out the door.

“Winter!” I yelled at the top of my lungs.

“Yes?” She poked her head back in the hold with alarming speed.

“Fred, are you listening?”  I was sure he was, he just hadn’t commented

“Yes, I am Ellora Grace.”

“Good. Then I want this on record.  I am a pragmatist.  I think Kerlian-Pertumit Garundi doublecross to be a hare-brained suicidal caper thought up by two schoolboys with romantic notions of grandeur. I also recognize that you, Winter, have absolutely got me by the short hairs.  I have no idea where to find a free Hashtaaleen colony, I cannot go to Altamira, and I can’t thaw this kid out and raise it. So, I guess the Fred, and myself will be staying for the duration of this insane caper, may Oberonae bless us and keep us from getting killed.”

To her credit, Winter didn’t smile or acknowledge she’d outmaneuvered me.  Instead, she nodded.

“Fred, belay the warmup. Shut down engines and reattach us to The Silver Siren.” To me, she said, “Keep the command codes. I’ll be in my cabin.”

I got the impression I’d passed a test of some kind.