Somehow I had a productive week as far as writing goes. Managed to write up a few more pages.
Enjoy.
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Tagor opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a large room and everything in it looked shiny and new, just as though he was the first person to occupy it. Lights were dimmed, no pictures at the walls.
‘Where am I?’ The coppery taste of blood and his heartbeat pounding resonating painfully in his head assured him that he was still alive. What had happened? The last thing he could remember was that he was fighting pirates. Whenever he killed one a new ship would come through the gate. A hopeless fight for survival, the Mamba heavily damaged, life-support giving out, shield generator damaged, numerous hull breaches. And then? Well, something must have happened.
“Hello? Can anybody hear me? Please?” No response. Perhaps he was dead after all?
To the left he saw his flight suit hung over a chair. ‘Clothes!’ He lifted the blanked and found he was wearing light trousers and a jersey made of finest Rimes. With a sigh he sank back into the cushion. Tagor could do nothing but wait, perhaps pray, in case he was dead.
Slowly he fell back asleep. A dream, somebody, a beautiful girl, standing next to him, a bowl of Cucapa soup on the table, his favourite food. Tagor could literally smell it. Saliva escaped his lips. He opened his eyes sat up in shock. Everything was blurred, his eyes struggling to focus. This was no dream, the person next to him, and the smell of soup. His hand brushed over his lips. ‘Oops.’ He grinned embarrassed and looked at the person.
“Val? Where am I?”
“For now you are safe, everything else can wait until you have recovered. Let me just say, you were in pretty bad shape when I picked you up.”
She turned around and walked out of the room. Edaciously he began to eat. It was as if he had not had any food for days. Tagor’s hand ran down his side, skin and bones. How long had he been unconscious? Val had said he was safe, what did that mean? Safe from whom? Too many questions.
*
Val had picked up Tagor from his room and given him a short tour of the power plant, or its living quarters for that matter. Now they sat in the main lounge, a large room accessible only via the bar. They looked out into space, watching the busy trading lines. It looked peaceful and tranquil.
“I can see why you decided to build here. Probably only Kingdom End can match the calming atmosphere of this system.”
“Perhaps, but Kingdom End is not anywhere near as profitable.” Val responded with a smile.
“It may be safer, though.”
“With a shipyard in this system the Boron do watch out for who travels through their space. I feel safe.”
“Do you live all by yourself?”
“Are you trying to chat me up?”
“Do I need to? You took me to your home, stripped me out of my clothes, cook for me. What more could I ask for?” The attempt of a smile ended in a terrifying grimace. Lack of food and injuries took their toll on his appearance.
“Sorry, have to burst that bubble. No, I am not living alone; there is another person on the station. No, I did not strip you off your clothes; I got a doctor from the trading station to look after you, he did it. As for the food, got to love them food replicators. On the bright side, yes, I took you to my place.” They laughed.
“What happened back there? How did you get me out of there? There were so many ships. What about the captives?”
“I transported you out of your ship. With your shields damaged that was easy. Did the same with the pirates but only one of them survived, no idea how. The cargo compartment in which you held them was seriously damaged and leaking. I can only imagine that he managed to seal his suit in time. As for the pirate ships, they appear to have originated from the Montalaar pirate station. Why they were after you? Presumably to silence the captives. So we have to assume ourselves lucky to have saved the life of one of them. Anyway, welcome to the club of the dead.”
“Club of the dead? What do you mean?” He looked perplexed.
“Well, all three people on this station are officially dead. We could all live a quiet and peaceful life, except that the first thing that I did after my ‘death’ brought me right back in the line of fire. So what do you intend to do with your life from this point?”
“Report back and continue my job, I guess.”
“I don’t think that would be particularly smart. What if, against all odds, the pirates were not after the captives but after you?”
Tagor pondered over that thought for a while. It was indeed possible that he had been monitored and considered a traitor. Telonissos, the leader of the Curada clan was a dangerous person. Perhaps he had made a mistake somewhere. Well, staying in close proximity to Val and not acting certainly could be considered a mistake in this matter. So being officially dead could be a good thing after all. Yet, what about his parents? They certainly did not deserve a false death message. But could he let them know? His file did not contain any information about his family but there were a number of people in the service that knew. What if there was a leak?
“If I choose to remain officially dead, I will need to ask a huge favour of you.”
“What would that be?”
“You need to tell Ban Danna, and only him, that I am still alive.”
“Why him? I thought you’d ask me to inform your parents.”
Tagor grimaced. “Will you do it? Please.”
“If you consider this a good idea then yes, I will do it. I’ll go to Argon Prime tomorrow, was going to pick up some gear from Cloudbase SE anyway.”
“Don’t you think that is a bit risky? What if they prevent you from leaving?”
Val smiled. “I have got nothing to hide … apart from myself perhaps. Don’t worry. Now let’s go and see the other inhabitant of this station.”
When they entered Bola Ti’s lab the scientist looked up in surprise.
“Bola, meet Tagor, Tagor, meet Bola Ti.”
“We have met before. It is a pleasure to meet you again, young friend. But may I politely ask, what does an Argon secret service agent on this station?”
“Bola, I must say I am glad to see you are alive. It appears our friend here has developed a habit of rescuing seemingly dead people.”
“Are you saying .. ?”
“Yes, I got toasted by two dozens of pirates and somehow Val managed to get me out of the dilemma. I have no idea how, though.”
“I know what you mean. Val has proven to be extremely resourceful at times.”
“With my help, obviously,” a different voice sounded.
Tagor looked around. “Who was that?”
Val laughed. “How could I forget to introduce you? Tagor, meet Arox. Arox is the artificial intelligence that has a major contribution in most of my activities, if not all. You certainly have to thank her just as much that you are still alive.”
With a smile Tagor addressed the disembodied entity. “Thank you for saving me. It is a pleasure to meet you. Sort of anyway.”
“Sort of pleasure or sort of meet?”
“What? Oh, sort of meet.” Bola and Val, used to Val’s responses, had to laugh at the sight of Tagor’s facial expression. It sure would take him some time to get used to conversing with an AI.
*
“Are you sure you want to sneak in through the back door?”
“Yes, I don’t know how they will react, most of all, nobody needs to know I have been here.”
Val had moved the cloaked Barracuda close to the stationary Argon One. She relied on Arox to maintain the distance should the large carrier ship move. Arox had managed to locate the quarters of Ban Danna, which happened to be just above the main bridge of the ship. It had been relatively easy, as Tagor had provided a very good description. The admiral appeared to have reserved himself a room with a view.
Hovering above the window, Val projected the transporter coordinates onto the screen.
“I register an accelerated heart rate. The admiral might get the wrong idea if you approach him in his quarters hyperventilating like that.”
“I’ll be fine. Let’s get going.”
Ban Danna looked up in surprise when he noticed transporter activity. With wide eyes and open mouth he stared at Val, unable to call for assistance. The book slipped from his hands and landed with a loud thump on the floor.
“Hello again,” Val whispered. “Please don’t be alarmed, I am not here to hurt you.”
“How did you get in here? Why did nobody tell me you are onboard?”
“Probably because you are the only one who knows. I am here to bring you some hopefully good news.”
“Good news? Well, that would make for a good change. But why come to me? You could have sent a message drone.”
“What I have to say is for your ears only and I could not risk anybody else getting notice of it.” Val walked to the large desk in the middle of the room. A number of old photographs stood at the edge. In the centre of the desk a slim screen shone brightly in the dim environment of the room. The last report Ban Danna had viewed was that of Tagor’s death.
“This is why I am here,” Val pointed at the screen.
“Do you have any information regarding this? Sector logs of the Boron indicate that he accompanied you from Ceo’s Doubt to the West gate of Rolk’s Fate. They also show that you were in a fight with the Paranid before he met you. Are these events related? We understand he had the captives in his hold.”
“We are not certain if it was related. I don’t know Tagor’s assignment, other than pestering me, obviously. But could it be that he did undercover work and his cover blew somehow?”
“Uhmm, his work is classified, so I …”
“Anyway,” Val interrupted him. “Bottom line is, he is not dead. But the only way to find out who tried to knock him out is if nobody knows that.”
Ban Danna stood up faster than Val would have thought possible. “Are you speaking the truth? Not trying to play mind games?” He hastily asked. His eyes suddenly shone bright.
“I got him and one of the captives out of there alive, the others died.”
“You don’t know how grateful I am for what you did. His mother will be overjoyed when she hears the news.” With these words he pulled her towards him and hugged her. After a moment of surprise Val struggled out of his hold.
“That is exactly the problem. If somebody from your organisation blew his cover then they will notice if his family stops mourning. You will have to think about that. Either way, my business here is done. I’d better go.”
“No, wait! I have many questions to ask! One of them obviously, where you obtained such advanced transporter technology. Not even the Goners know how to transport through containment shields. This is extremely dangerous and we need to develop countermeasures.”
“You call it dangerous, I call it convenient. If it helps, I am the only one who has it because I made those alterations to the devices of the Goners. Because it gives me a significant edge, I am currently also not thinking about introducing it to the public.”
“But …”
“There is no but. I know about its great strategic value.”
Ban Danna nodded in resignation. There was little he could do but ask. Imprison her? No, before his guards were here she’d be gone. Gone? Where actually? She had to have a ship nearby. What if … He walked around his desk and called up the sector view.
Val laughed. “Are you trying to find my ship to hold me back? Perhaps it was a mistake trying to help you. I shall not do it again.”
“No, no!” The admiral moved quickly away from his desk looking sheepishly. “I am sorry. Your help is greatly appreciated, as well today as the drone you sent regarding Brennan. Would you tell me how you obtained that footage? It appears you are always a step ahead of everyone else.”
“Sadly I am forced to be a step ahead, otherwise I’d be already dead. Believe me when I say I’d rather have a quiet life. As for Brennan, all I say is ‘message drone’. From what I can tell, we have currently no ships to fight those creatures. They have extremely powerful long-range beam weapons. The only weapons that could possibly stand a chance are the shockwave generators of the Paranid, should they become available on the market. And perhaps … no, probably not.” Val did not want to mention the ion disruptor to avoid further questions.
“This still does not answer the question how you got there.”
“There are always jumpdrives, right?” Val considered it to be pointless to reveal the location of the gate. There was the off-chance Ban Danna may go back to Nopileos’ Memorial and check it out but until then it was for her to know, for him to find out. For a large scale military incursion it’d be too small anyways. Brennan must have had a few problems squeezing his corvette through the ring. Comparing the slim Split design of the Dragon with that of the bulky Argon corvette, there was no way one of those Centaurs could fit through.
“That’d require gateless jump capability, which we do not possess.”
“Well, by the time you have developed it you may also be ready to face these creatures. Admiral, there is no point in asking, I am not going to tell you and you know it. It is for the best for all of us if nobody knows how to get there. I can see that you want to see what has become of your friend but as you could see on that video clip, there is next to no hope that he is still alive. The best you can do is look at it as an early warning of a very dangerous potential enemy. Use the time that is given to prepare for what may or may not happen when these ships reach our sectors. The next gate re-alignment could already cause that.”
“You are probably right.” Danna gave in diplomatically. His eyes betrayed him. After risking his own life trying to find Brennan he would stop at nothing before he had found either his friend or certainty of his demise.
“Anyway, I’d better get going. It has been good to see you again and in a less tense situation.”
“Pleasure was all mine. Thank you again for saving Tagor.”
“Some people do not deserve to die, I guess.” Val shrug and vanished in blue haze, as she activated the transporter device.
Ban Danna sat for several mizuras on the couch attempting to digest the information. It was completely unclear to him what her motives were. He still was not certain if she was, to put it with Commander Corand’s words, either too inexperienced or straight up honest. While he wanted to believe the latter, something was just not right with that girl. She had appeared from nowhere, his guardian angel at the time, and managed to make an impression within only a couple of mazuras. Certainly one to look out for. Should he get his men to look for her ship? It may not be visible to scanners but she could not hide it from view. No, his gut feeling told him that she was on his side, why feed his own uncertainty? On the other hand, he was curious to find out where she had left it.
“Computer, put all outside cameras on screen. Time minus 20 mizuras.”
“Data on screen.” The computer reported dutifully.
Ban Danna shivered. There it was. Thinking that somebody could just park a heavy fighter right outside his quarters and not be noticed made him uneasy. What if somebody with less goodwill got his or her hands on this technology? How did she do it? Rumours had it that the Paranid were making progress with their research in this field but were still far away from finalising it. His own scientists had, in cooperation with leading Boron Lars, been working on it but not succeeded. The energy output of a ship was just too high to disguise. It’d be interesting to see if there were any ever so small anomalies on the radar.
The admiral made his way to the bridge. His interest had been sparked. No longer did he pursue the issue out of concern. This was a challenge. His crew looked up surprised when he entered the command centre of the carrier.
“At ease.” He nodded at his men and walked over to the navigations officer.
“Do we have any recent short-range scans?”
“Yes, Sir. How recent should they be?”
“From about 20 mizuras till 15 mizuras ago. I need them in highest resolution, centred on this ship.”
The officer looked puzzled but did not hesitate projecting the desired information on a large screen. “May I ask what you are looking for, Sir?”
“I am looking for a slight anomaly, an energy spike in the proximity of the Argon One.”
“With all due respect, Sir. I do not believe we will be able to see small anomalies in close proximity to a ship as large as this.”
‘Of course! Bringing the ship so close meant that the signature of the much larger Colossus was superimposed on that of the fighter. Clever girl.’ Danna smiled.
“Ok, count down further, from 15 till 10 mizuras ago.”
The officer complied and replayed the scans.
‘Nothing, drawn a blank. So it was possible to mask the energy signature of a heavy fighter.’ Ban Danna stared a few moments at the now blank screen, nodded and turned around.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.”
The captain followed him when he left the bridge. “Sir, may I ask what this was about? Was there something particular that was supposed to happen at those times? Should we investigate it any further?”
“No Captain. Nothing of concern. I … I was just curious.” With these words he entered the lift.
‘Nothing of concern! As if you did ever anything for no obvious reason!’ The captain was not convinced. ‘Probably another new gadget of the secret service on test.’ Shaking his head he returned to the bridge. The crew looked at him but he just shrug and everybody continued with the tasks at hand. They had witnessed a few oddities under the command of Ban Danna; this was just another one on the list.
*
“I almost got concerned you’d join the Navy, considering how long you were there.”
Val laughed. “Thanks for your concern but I don’t think that is going to happen anytime soon. How is our cloak holding up?”
“Working at optimum performance. If they use their eyes they will see us but their scanners certainly won’t.”
“Excellent. If I haven’t said that before, you are a star!” Slowly Val’s heart rate began to return to normal. Although she did not show it, the fear to be arrested had been always at the back of her mind.
“I did wonder when you would show your gratitude. Well, there is still hope for you.”
“I knew you’d be glad to hear that and you are most welcome,” Val laughed. She guided the ship away from the carrier and gently accelerated. After almost one stazura she changed her bearing towards the South gate.
“What do you reckon we do with the two captured Paranid ships? Am I better off selling them? They are a bit of a mark but how much more could it be compared to now?”
“I believe that depends on who our prisoner is. If he is just an ordinary pirate then by all means you should keep them. Should there, however, be Paranid involvement then they will be very likely to try and get them back, one way or another.”
“That means I should get the corvette out of the shipyard and to a safe place? If only there was such thing. How expensive would it be to repair the ships? Can we afford it?”
“Costs for the Perseus will 267.420cr. To fix the Nemesis 3.691.823cr are required. It would mean spending most of our credits. Yet, by the end of it there would still be a lot of equipment required to make the ships usable. It can be safely assumed that selling is the better option at this point in time. However, fixing up the Perseus could be useful to provide a ship for Tagor, if you had that in mind.”
“Alright, sell the corvette and fix the fighter and see what equipment you can get for it. A shame we can’t afford fixing the corvette. It’d be a great asset …”
“… and a great concern for all races. At this point in time it may be safer not to have a ship like that.” Val sighed audibly as Arox completed the sentence.
Red Glow - Chapter 13 (12.02.2006)
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Red Glow - Chapter 13 (12.02.2006)
Last edited by KiwiNZ on Mon, 13. Feb 06, 09:59, edited 2 times in total.
Good stuff KiwiNZ............however.........
"What if prevent you from leaving?”" - think there's something missing out of that bit possably an 'I'....just after the dialogue with Tagors thoughts about 'remaining dead'
and this one.
"Not even the Goners did now how you can transport through containment shields."
how about
"Not even the Goners know how to transport through containment shields."
Ban and Val in his quarters.
Looking forward to next part!
"What if prevent you from leaving?”" - think there's something missing out of that bit possably an 'I'....just after the dialogue with Tagors thoughts about 'remaining dead'
and this one.
"Not even the Goners did now how you can transport through containment shields."
how about
"Not even the Goners know how to transport through containment shields."
Ban and Val in his quarters.
Looking forward to next part!
