End of chapter below - - - -
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Yet for all my misdemeanours the Goner, albeit with great reluctance, have agreed to give me a new identity and a place to withdraw from the hungry eyes of the bounty hunters despite the fact that I was born into a life of violence and have lived my life eliminating my enemies. The list of the dead is long and distinguished from political assassinations to pirate scum. Only I know it’s only a matter of time before someone chooses to pick a fight with these, the most peaceable of people only they’ll be making the mistake of targeting me with the false sense of bravado thinking, I won’t fight back.
Who am I, my name is Lumar .. I was once known as Creed.
“Which part of run did you not understand, the ‘r’, the ‘u’ or the ‘n’.” Lumar was calm he could feel that every nerve ending in his body was at serene peace. He had spent tazuras perfecting the non aggressive sense of well being, only now it was the unreal calm that resides within the eye of a hurricane.
“Woo, that almost sounded like a threat Goner scum.” The Split youth barely eighteen jazuras moved forward. From his breath and slurred speech Lumar could tell he had been drinking heavily, he decided to wait until the first blow. Even drunk the Split would under normal circumstances knock down any Argon man.
“Is there trouble brother?” Lumar looked round towards the perplexed face of Tinn, his co-pilot.
“No brother, we were about to discuss the finer points of defence when faced with unreasonable aggression.” The youth made a quick attack while Lumar was looking away. Lumar blocked every blow with a casual smile and then turned his attention back to the youth. “You are a somewhat predictable as denotes your lineage. Might I suggest, should we ever have the unhappy happenstance to meet again that you don’t wait before attacking.”
The Split youth, incensed by the comment drew weapons and directed them at Lumar, only he had moved. The youth hit the station deck with a resounding thud and felt the tip of his blaster pressed against his forehead. Lumar smiled, “I don’t appreciate being threatened. Today you live but tomorrow I might not be a Goner.”
*****************
“Brother, I really don’t think that was a good idea.”
Aware that the eyes of all the visitors and crew around the shopping promenade were now firmly fixed on him, Lumar rose casually and stood back. The youth scrambled to his feet his face a visage of unmistakable hatred and anger.
“My weapon,” the youth’s voice reflected his expression.
“You have yet to find clarity of thought and inner peace for me to accede to your request, therefore I must decline for the well being of those around us and your own maggot ridden hide,” Lumar used the sympathetic smile he had spent many tazuras practicing reflecting on the words of Noah. “When I see you smile like that I worry for the lives of the brotherhood.”
The youth curled up the right corner of his lip, his eyes narrowed and his stance became poised for attack. Lumar wondered if the youth was going to make a grunting, growling sound while he remained motionless and knew he showed no outward signs of doing anything.
“T’Rkkn we’re late, kill him later.”
The youth bared his teeth, “Next time. Goner scum.”
Lumar glanced towards the Split who had called the youth away. It was not a face he recognised, which he considered just as well under the circumstances. Even so he was aware that the Split was looking at him with not so much as a look of disgust, which would be normal as they hated just about everyone including each other, but with curiosity. The Argon saying, ‘There’s nothing more dangerous than an intelligent Split,’ came to mind.
Then he reminded himself there was nothing more curious than a Goner with a blaster in his hand and slipped the weapon under the folds of his robe.
“Brother is it wise to hold on to that weapon,” Tinn whispered, “You know how brother Noah feels about such things.”
“Don’t worry brother, the only reason I hold onto it is so that it may be disposed of in an appropriate manner. I will speak to brother Noah when we return and explain my actions which you are duty bound to report,” Lumar smiled and adjusted the hood of his robes the blaster nestled, like a long lost friend in a pocket by his side. “Now time is pressing and Ferd may have many other important meetings to attend so we should not be late.”
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Lumar walked with the casual unhurried ease synonymous with the peaceful lifestyle of the Goner. It was a measured pace taught to all students so that they gave themselves time to observe their surroundings and take time to contemplate a task completed or work ahead. For some time Lumar had assumed it was really an excuse to let a good meal settle without inducing indigestion, but having walked the pace he found that he did notice more of his surrounding and all the little events that effected peoples lives, even so it was still jazuras of honed survival instinct which alerted him to the real dangers around him. He looked over towards the contemplative face of Tinn. “What’s troubling you?”
“Hmm, Oh nothing.”
“Perhaps I should rephrase the question, what have you heard that requires meditative thought?” Lumar felt no concern at what rumours circulated about him at the temple. Often the wild speculation made him smile.
“Many of the people who join the Goner are gentle folk who share the same ideals, and are seeking security from oppression, but you stand apart.”
“How so?”
“It seemed all too easy, almost natural for you to bring down that youth. What you did at face value goes against everything we are taught and although you did no physical harm to the boy, my heart tells me that you could have without hesitation or consideration. Your bearing and manner are different from the rest of us. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but you do not appear to gain wellbeing by walking and talking with the brethren. Yet, until today, you appeared to have found an inner confidence and tranquillity that many crave to discover, only now I wonder if I walk beside a sleeping volcano. If that makes any sense?” Tinn appeared to struggle to put words to his thoughts.
Lumar smiled, he wondered why Tinn had been chosen to accompany him rather than a less perceptive priest. He also sensed that Tinn was trying to be subtle in asking the question, ‘who are you really?’
Tinn plunged on, “They say that when you first arrived you fought battles in your dreams.”
“Everyone has fears and demons that come at us when we are most vulnerable,” Lumar gestured to Tinn that they needed to bear to the right.
“It is said that such nightmares come from memories, fears and regrets of past events. Do you think that to be true?” Tinn looked hungry for information even though he tried not to sound eager.
“You are not the first to ask those questions and my answer to you is the same as it was to all those before you. The path to the true light will not be found by discussing my past.” Lumar placed a hand on Tinn’s shoulder while the young priest looked crestfallen at the use of Noah’s almost exact same words when a conversation ever mentioned his name.
Tinn made no further comments and Lumar listened to the sounds of voices, the demands of children on their parents, and padding of foot ware on the Cushemin coating of the laminated floor. They reached the doorway leading to a small office. The frontage to the office was relatively plain with none of the usual plas-screen advertising, just a mirrored window and sliding door bearing the legend ‘Info-Brokers Inc.’ and a large label declaring, ‘These premises are protected by Ray-Tech Security Devices.’
The door opened they stepped into a secure small lobby that Lumar instantly recognised as a screen for a weapons scanner. A synthesised voice intoned, “Blaster suppression systems are in operation. All weapons to be left at the reception desk.”
Lumar looked towards Tinn, “It seems to me that brokering information has become a dangerous occupation.”
The opposite door slid open and they stepped into the reception area. Lumar could feel a pricking sensation and pressure against his skin that he knew was the suppression field.
The girl at the desk had shoulder length dark hair that curled in gentle ringlets and hazel eyes, yet he noted the slight wrinkles beside the eyes that betrayed her age to something closer to mid forties than thirties.
“You can keep this,” Lumar slowly extracted the blaster and placed it on the counter.
“Who are you here to see?”
“Ferd.”
“What name?”
“Brother Tinn and Lumar, here on behalf of Brother Noah. I believe we are expected.”
There was a tapping on the console and a voice over the comm. “Yes, Joyce?”
“Brother Tinn and Lumar are here to see you.”
“Send them in.”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Entering Ferd’s office presented them with a man whose outward appearance belied the plush office. To Lumar he regarded him as an Argon long since past his prime with the suit and tie looking decidedly out of place in the high tech office, he could however envisage him doing deals in dingy back rooms surrounded by rusting packing crates over a bottle of whisky.
“Come in, come in,” Ferd gave a bold sweeping gesture towards a couple of chairs. They both sat and Ferd continued, “How was the trip?”
“Blissfully uneventful.” Lumar responded.
“With just one small incident outside I gather,” Ferd smiled his gaze falling on Lumar for only a few brief stazura.
“News travels fast,” Lumar gave a slight nod to acknowledge the event.
“Enough time for me to call the head of your order and have him present me with a couple of security questions, just to prove you’re who you claim to be.” Ferd sat back and once again studied each of them, “Tinn, where were you born?”
“Osis, on the 17th day of Autumn.”
“Which toe did you break when you accidentally dropped the Tolian Weight on your foot.?”
“The middle one of my left foot.”
Ferd smiled and then looked at Lumar.
“In the second sermon of Goner Patrik at the celebration of the discovery of Earth there was a minor interruption causing Patrik to lose his place, what did you do?”
“I prompted our good Brother and assisted in finishing the sermon.”
Ferd nodded and put down the pad apparently satisfied with the answers, “Now to business.”
“We are looking for information regarding the captain and crew of the factory transport ship Colonial Star which was due to drop a research facility in the outer sectors nearly six tazuras ago. The vessel arrived as scheduled but the crew did not and our investigations have so far drawn a blank on events surrounding the flight with the exception that it appears the ship made a mis-jump into a particularly lawless region of space,” Tinn said.
“And as peace loving Goners it’s not a place you want to go prowling around.” Ferd pre-empted the rest of the sentence.
“What strikes us as odd is that nothing appears to have been taken from the ship.”
“With the exception of the crew.” Ferd added with a smile.
“Exactly.”
“Of course you could have told me all this over the comm and saved yourself the inconvenience of a journey to my office.”
“Indeed we could, yet the concept of jumpdrives malfunctioning the way this one did is not for discussion over a comm system where the transmission might be intercepted.”
“You suspect foul play?”
“In more ways than one. From the damage we know the ship was subjected to a sustained attack prior to the crew abandoning it however what is of greater concern is that the flight records were removed. We don’t know if it was by a member of the crew or by pirates after the crew abandoned ship.” Tinn said and took out a small plastic pouch from a robe pocket.
“This sounds like you need to hire an investigator not an info-broker.” Ferd leant forward.
“You have more contacts and probably the best spy network in the universe.” Lumar said with a smile.
Ferd appeared affronted by the remark, “I’m not sure I like the inference of that remark. At this moment we have enough trouble keeping our system guides up to date with all the Khaak and pirate activity going on. If you want to know where legal people and ships are, sector planning applications for any system from the core to the outer rim, I’m your man. I deal in legitimate data that’s available to anyone if they know where to look.”
“I’m sure brother Lumar meant no offence with his comments.” Tinn gave Lumar an imploring look.’
“I spoke out of turn and my comment was unduly flippant, please accept my apology.” Lumar sat back his face benevolent.
Ferd looked at him thoughtfully before responding, “Apology accepted. It’s a common mistake that many people make.” He turned his attention back to Tinn, “As I said, all this sounds interesting but I’m still not sure you have the right person to get you the information you need. So far you have missing flight recorders and a beaten up TL which tells me this is no ordinary pirate attack.”
“Exactly our thoughts, why attack a ship and then not claim it for salvage. The vessel and cargo would be worth considerably more than the crew,” Tinn paused, “We are currently trying to assess if the station kit has been tampered with but there’s nothing obvious. A maintenance crew is repairing the subsystems that will allow the docking bay doors to be opened so the station can be deployed. Only then will we know for certain if the construction details or computer core have been modified.”
“All very interesting, but what does this station do?” Ferd said.
“It will scan for spatial anomalies and power sources that could indicate the presence of gates and scan local planets for geological composition and atmospheric conditions to gauge if they sustain developing life or are suitable for colonisation.”
This made Ferd sit forward with a glint in his eye, “Now that sort of information is worth something.”
“Noah suggested that we could offer you the exclusive rights to the stations findings for a charitable contribution and the information regarding the crew of the transport.”
“If I were to make two guesses then the first one would be that Yaki pirates attacked the ship and the second is the crew will be working in some Split slave mine by now or worse. The chances of finding any more out than that is out of my scope. However if you let me know where the ship was I could put you on to someone that might be able to help,” Ferd shot Lumar a quick glance.
“The information on this datachip will give you the location of where the TL was attacked, but for security reasons the current location of the ship has been omitted,” Tinn handed over the pouch, “Any information you can obtain with the name of a local contact will be greatly appreciated.”
Ferd gave a nod, “Sure, but I thought that you guys would be more interested in negotiations with Earth politicians than looking for more sectors to enlighten.”
“The glorious discovery of our spiritual birthplace is always in our thoughts but that is not to distract us in our good work. It serves simply as recognition that we have always been justified in our belief.” Tinn said with pride.
“Right,” Ferd glanced at Lumar who gave a slight shrug, He extracted the datachip and connected it to the terminal. A few keystrokes later and he sat back and gave a low whistle, “This could be tricky. A mis-jump to that sector won’t be an accident.”
“How do you mean?” Tinn sat forward.
“What I know about jumpdrives is they only go wrong if they’ve been tampered with, don’t get serviced properly or get a bad cell. Mostly they’re supposed to shut down or make a safe jump to the nearest gate. After all, most jumps are made when a ship is being attacked. Yet the jump out point was here in Argon Prime and it ended up here,” Ferd opened up a star chart showing the network of gates and highlighted the two sectors.
“Is that a Yaki controlled sector?” Tinn said.
“No, but it is pirate space.”
“Do you have a contact in that region?” Lumar said while studying the map.
“Not yet but I know someone two to three sectors away that I can comm. They might be able to give me the name of an investigator willing to travel out there, but this will take a while to organise. You can either hang around or do you want me to contact you at the temple?”
“Inform Noah at the temple when you have something to report and we will arrange another meeting,” Lumar said and stood up
A momentary lapse of reason.. ch1
Moderators: TheElf, Moderators for English X Forum
A momentary lapse of reason.. ch1
Last edited by Mercenary on Fri, 2. Jun 06, 08:44, edited 6 times in total.
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TerrorTrooper
- Posts: 2266
- Joined: Mon, 26. Jan 04, 13:14
Wow, Creed living the life of a goner 
That cats got one strange sense of humor or he's got serious personal issues about his past! Either way, I'm bettin he'll re-discover his true calling in life 
Get-em!!
I'm assuming this picks up shortly after the last creed point in TT4
Here's hopeing he 'bums' into other familiar friends 
Welcome back Merc!! So what do you think of X3 Reunion??
That cats got one strange sense of humor or he's got serious personal issues about his past! Either way, I'm bettin he'll re-discover his true calling in life Get-em!!I'm assuming this picks up shortly after the last creed point in TT4
Here's hopeing he 'bums' into other familiar friends Welcome back Merc!! So what do you think of X3 Reunion??
_____________________________
1GB RAM
Eluminx Keyboard
AMD64 3500
MSI K8N Neo4 mob
ATI Radeon X850XT 256mb
Western Digital 74GB Raptor(boot)
_____________________________
1GB RAM
Eluminx Keyboard
AMD64 3500
MSI K8N Neo4 mob
ATI Radeon X850XT 256mb
Western Digital 74GB Raptor(boot)
_____________________________
Great addition to the story! I really like the atmosphere you create. Best example "motioned him to the right", which is a really nice way of making clear that they are progressing and are headed for a certain destination, as well as a minimal description of the environment. Cool!
Looking forward to the next part!
Looking forward to the next part!
Merc, it's wonderful to see you writing again! 
Great reading as always
One point:
"To Lumar he regarded him as an Argon long since past his prime with the suit and tie looked decidedly out of place in the high tech office, he could however envisage him doing deals in dingy back rooms surrounded by rusting packing crates over a bottle of whisky."
Shouldn't it be "with the suit and tie looking decidedly out of place"? Although, quite possible that it is me who is mistaken, as English is not my mother tongue
Keep on writing! We all enjoy it a lot. Thanks
Great reading as always
One point:
"To Lumar he regarded him as an Argon long since past his prime with the suit and tie looked decidedly out of place in the high tech office, he could however envisage him doing deals in dingy back rooms surrounded by rusting packing crates over a bottle of whisky."
Shouldn't it be "with the suit and tie looking decidedly out of place"? Although, quite possible that it is me who is mistaken, as English is not my mother tongue
Keep on writing! We all enjoy it a lot. Thanks