Roran Page 8

  As soon as he extended the wings, it shot into the air at high speed. They circled around and sped through the air back across the city to the starport. Becca held on tightly with her cheek and upper body pressed against his back.

  Once they were away from danger, he landed the cycle outside the starport in an alley behind a tavern. Opening a small compartment where the gas tank would have been on an Earth motorcycle, he took out a cloth.

  He wiped off his gun, the clips and his knife, then threw them into an open dumpster by the back door of the tavern. Taking Becca’s weapons, he did the same with them. The rim of the opened dumpster was so high that even a tall humanoid couldn’t see over it.

  “Take off the belt,” he said to her as he unfastened his own. Putting them both into the compartment in front of him, he added, “The belts won’t scan as contraband.”

  Roran got back on the bike with her and drove back to the starport on the streets. Planetary customs waved them through, and they were soon back on his ship.

  Becca was unusually quiet from the time they put the cycle back into its compartment in the cargo bay to when they walked through the ship to the bridge. He took the paper from Lalnan’s flat out of his pocket and held it out to Feenix.

  “Can you translate this?”

  The android took the paper from him and scanned the handwritten script.

  “Haloran Evzen three million crystals split three ways. Eliminate Skywik and Vonged no split.”

  Roran frowned. “Repeat.”

  Feenix repeated it in his bass voice.

  “Who is Halor Evzen? Is that a person or a place?” Becca asked.

  Roran shook his head. “I don’t know. But it makes me think the Sargan had Lalnan kill his associates.”

  “By making him an offer, he couldn’t refuse. Some friend.”

  “A million in energy crystals would get him off this pitiful planet and out of this sector. I can’t figure out what this has to do with Haemeg that got him killed.”

  “You didn’t get to kill any of them…”

  “They all died too easy after what they did to Haemeg, but they didn’t get to enjoy the payment for it,” he said. “I think I got the Sargan, though… I don’t know if I killed him or not.”

  “Does this mean you finished your mission?” Becca asked.

  “No. We know who, but not why. Those three didn’t just suddenly decide to go to a space station half a sector away and kill Haemeg. They were acquainted with him---maybe even worked with him. They were petty thugs and sloppy assassins. Just plain brutal.”

  “Like you wanted to do to them in revenge for killing your friend?”

  Roran felt a twinge of guilt. He didn’t want his mate to know that side of him, or to think less of him for it. Becca put her hand on his arm as he looked away.

  “If someone killed my friend like that, I would want to make them pay… Make them suffer…”

  “Now, that they are dead and someone beat me to it… It’s kind of a letdown.”

  “So, what’s next?”

  “I’m not sure, except we should get off this planet before anyone connects us to that firefight or that Sargan comes after us,” he said. “Feenix, get launch clearance, and take us out of here. Becca, get strapped in.”

  It seemed to take a long time for Feenix to get through the process, but it only took a few mini-spans for them to launch and return to space.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Feenix, set course for Tegliar Station,” Roran said as they broke free of Volugua gravity. That was where Haemeg went before he returned to Bekkat. According to his logs, that is where he delivered the item.”

  “Do you have any idea what he delivered?”

  “It was either valuable goods or information that someone didn’t want to risk over interstellar channels.”

  “This sounds like something out of a spy novel. They killed your friend to shut him up so he couldn’t tell anyone who sent him and who he delivered this secret, valuable information to.”

  “The Sargan’s attacked Farseek while their ambassadors signed peace accords at Tegliar Station. After the attack on Farseek, the Consortium sent an armada of warships to Sargus to bring down the Emperor.”

  “When did Haemeg go to Tegliar Station?”

  “Before that. Way before that. If whatever happened there got him killed, why did they wait so long.”

  “It still goes back to something he knew that would ruin whoever had him killed,” said Roran. “someone must have been getting close to finding the truth. Or maybe figuring out that Haemeg knew the perpetrator did whatever it was they were trying to hide.”

  “You must have some idea of what that might be. What about the paper from Lalnan’s flat?”

  “The two words at the beginning, I can’t place. The rest of the notes imply that Lalnan was planning to kill his partners and keep their share of the payment for killing Haemeg. I can’t figure out who this Haloran Evzen is.”

  “Could it be a place instead of a person?” asked Becca. “Can Feenix tell you what it means?”

  “Possibly, if I ask the right questions.” Roran sighed. “Feenix, run a search on these words: Haloran Evzen.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Feenix said. “Searching.”

  “Why don’t we go to the galley and find something to eat?” Roran got up from his copilot seat, and Becca stood to join him. Draping an arm around her shoulders, they left the bridge together and walked the short hallway to the galley. “What would you like, first meal food or second meal food?”

  “How about that sweet mushy stuff we usually eat for first meal?”

  “Always a good choice,” Roran said with a smile. He went to one of the cabinets and pulled out two packets of the sweetened grain cereal and popped two of them into the heating unit. While he did that, Becca made them some of the stimulant laced tea.

  “You did well out there today me’ara,” he said, standing in front of the heating unit, waiting for it to complete its cycle.

  Becca smiled at him. “You were pretty impressive out there today, yourself. I was scared shitless.”

  “Don’t think I wasn’t scared. It could have gone either way out there. That Sargan assassin had a high-power laser weapon, and all we had were those ancient projectile pistols.”

  “Do you think you got him?”

  “I don’t know. If I didn’t, I suspect he will come after me again if he figures out where we’re going.”

  “So, what is Tegliar Station?”

  “It’s a monster of an artificially built colony dedicated to building and repairing ships that are too large to land on the ground at a starport. I just got word before I went to Bekkat station that the Farseek brigade stole a passenger ship, a brand-new luxury ship, no less.”

  “Why would they do that?” Becca asked.

  “Well, our whole fleet consists of heavily armed, compact dreadnaughts. The last I heard, they were coming into the Sargus Empire in search of our people the Sargans stole after they bombed Farseek. They probably needed a ship to carry the rescues. Defending the Consortium pays well, but certainly not well enough to buy a luxury-class cruise ship.”

  “That’s one way to make them pay for what they did to Farseek.” Becca frowned. “So, even though they all signed the peace accord, the Consortium is still at war with them because of what they did to Farseek. Right?”

  “Yes.” The heating unit beeped, and Roran took the two trays from it and carried them to the counter then walked around it to take a seat in front of one of them.

  Becca brought two steamy mugs of tea and set them on the counter, one by each meal tray. She also walked around the bar and took her seat beside Roran. Each meal tray came complete with a plastic spork that was recyclable along with the meal trays.

  “Doesn’t the Consortium have warships patrolling the borders of its territory? Farseek is deep into Consortium territory. How did enough Sargan battleships get that deep into Consortium space unchallenged?”

&nbs
p; It was Roran’s turned to frown.

  “The Sargans couldn’t come under normal circumstances. They were on their way to Farseek even before the peace agreement was signed. But our patrols could have been at the far end of their patrol route. With the tech they have, the Consortium Defense should still have caught that many battleships on their scanners even from a distance.”

  “Is there some kind of tech that could disguise their ships or block the Consortium tech from identifying them?” Becca asked.

  “There could be. I’m sure it would be something the Consortium would try to build for our ships.”

  “So, if the Sargans had some kind of stealth technology and the patrol route of the Consortium battleships, they could get to Farseek without detection.” Becca looked to see his reaction.

  Roran looked stunned. “No, he wouldn’t!”

  “But if he did, that would be more than enough to get him killed. That’s four men killed, and they tried to kill us, too.”

  Two beeps sounded. “Captain, I have your search results,” said Feenix. “Haloran also refers to a person from Halor. Halor is the name of a colonial family that settled the Consortium world of Halor. Evzen is a common first name throughout the Consortium. Of note, Evzen Guryon is the current governor of Halor. Evzen Guryon is known as one of the wealthiest males in the Consortium quadrant. His holdings include two agricultural planets and Halor Advanced Technology Corporation. Evzen Guryon…”

  “Thank you, Feenix. That will be all.”

  “Fuck! What the hell did Haemeg get into? If this means what I think it means, he was a traitor to the Consortium and our people.”

  “But you are trading tech to the Sargans,” Becca reminded.

  “Yes, personal com tablets and network tech, food processors and cleaning droids, not secret military tech. I’m following established protocol. Haemeg went completely rogue!” Roran was shouting by then. “Goddess of Light, Haemeg. What the hell did you think would happen?’

  He was upset, but Becca didn’t take it personally.

  “He probably thought they paid him enough money to buy his silence,” she said quietly.

  “The Farseek Brigade thought the Consortium betrayed them and made a formal request for withdrawal. We’ve supplied the Consortium with food and agricultural products for over 400 star-spans.

  “The destruction of Farseek was a blow to the whole Consortium. Even if they help rebuild Farseek, the Sargans took the survivors and spread them all over the Sargus Empire. I look for them every planetfall with an auction house. That’s how I found you.” Roran paused to give her an affectionate smile, then scooped up another spoonful of the hot cereal.

  “I am glad of that,” she returned his smile. “Do you think Haemeg knew he was betraying your world?”

  “Maker, I hope not. I’d rather think it was simple greed. Because if he knew what would happen to Farseek when he delivered the information to the Sargans, Haemeg deserved what he got. Thousands were killed, whole families, maybe even mine.”

  “In all the years you’ve known him, do you really believe he could have knowingly betrayed Farseek? You said it was his home, too.”

  Roran growled a sigh. “Either way, he paid with his life. I want to believe; he didn’t know. More likely, he thought he was doing it to screw the Consortium. In the Defense Force, they said Farseekan’s were a bunch of dumb farmers. But we were Uatu warriors before our people settled Farseek to farm. Farseek Brigade has the best warriors in the Consortium.”

  “It sounds like they liked to goad your people.”

  “They only did during entrance training, but when we won most of the contests of skill, they weren’t so bold anymore,” he said. “Haemeg held a bit of a grudge. He probably figured that Farseek was deep enough in the Consortium that they would not be affected.”

  “Did he know what happened to Farseek?”

  Roran nodded. “He was devastated, even more than I was. Maybe that’s when he figured out what he had done. He was never the same.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  When the Herminia Trader arrived at Tegliar Station, there was no evidence of the destruction that the Farseek Mercenaries did when they broke the luxury liner, they stole, free from the docking bay. Roran had been there many times, so there were no delays getting docking clearance. He had also spent enough credits on upgrades and repairs to Herminia there.

  Unlike Volugua, Tegliar station did not ban traders from carrying sidearms. However, laws were specific about how and when one could fire their weapons. Therefore, Roran decided that they should just wear their knives.

  “I’m not sure who or how many we might come against here, because Haemeg’s logs didn’t mention who he met on Tegliar station to deliver the item. He went to a restaurant, a supply house, and a bar,” Roran said as they came out of the ship into the docking bay.

  “What about his credit accounts?”

  “I reviewed them. There must be a secret account somewhere because there is no evidence of the big payoff, he told Kasha about. He didn’t have as much money in his accounts as I did before I got you out of the slave auction.”

  “Ever since that black ops shot at us on Volugua, I felt pretty sure that he probably met a Sargan operative here. I have a list of places I want to check and see if anyone remembers seeing Haemeg and who if anyone joined him.”

  “Aren’t you worried that might get people shooting at us again?”

  “I’m hoping I will get some attention,” he said casually.

  “Yes, that will probably work only too well,” Becca mused.

  “But our first stop will be the traders’ message exchange. I have a lockbox there that Haemeg would have used to leave me a confidential message. If he were hiding something and wanted me to know, the message would be there handwritten on paper like the one we found at Lalnan’s flat.”

  “Did you ever consider it should have been your first stop?”

  “No, Ideshan had to be my first stop not only because it was closer but because I needed to tell Kasha that Haemeg was dead. I had already set up the meeting with Jerdek, even before I went to the slave auction house.”

  Roran rested his hand at the small of her back as they crossed through the docking office and out into the merchant mall. They took a short beltway ride and stopped off in front of the traders’ message exchange. As they entered, Roran guided her directly to the wall that held hundreds of lockboxes. Roran’s box was at his eye level and required his thumbprint to open.

  Roran applied his thumb to the scan plate, and the door popped open. There was a single sealed envelope inside. He reached in and pulled it out, opening it immediately. Staring at it intently for several long centi-spans, he folded it back up and slipped it into the envelope and into a pocket.

  Becca looked at him expectantly. “Well?”

  “It’s the account information for the sum from the operation got him killed, I believe. He instructed that it should go to Kasha if anything happened to him, and his contact here is Rhazien Fadek.”

  “Do you know who that is?”

  “No, but there is a network address on my Farseek Brigade account with more information,” said Roran. “There is a bar down the beltway here where we can get some food and drink---one of Haemeg’s favorite hangouts.”

  They stepped onto one of the two pedestrian belts that ran down the center of the midway, moving in opposite directions. Roran guided Becca off the belt when they arrived in front of the bar. Walking in from the midway, they paused a moment for their eyes to adjust to the dimly lit interior.

  A flamingo pink-skinned humanoid with elfin ears and an elongated face with large round eyes and long, burgundy-colored lashes, hair, and eyebrows welcomed them. Though, obviously not homo sapien, she was beautiful.

  “I am Neesa, and I will be serving you. Come this way to be seated,” she said and led the way to a small booth in a quiet corner. She gave them each a plastic menu. “May I bring you drinks while you decide?”

 
; Becca found herself staring after the alien female as she walked away on long slender legs. She tore her gaze from the alien and looked sheepishly at Roran. “I’ve never seen anyone like her. We only have one human race on Earth in a few different colors.”

  “Any my color?”

  “Not that I’ve seen, but your hair color could be one of choice.” She smiled. “But, you would be handsome in any color.”

  Becca was flirting with him, and he liked it. He couldn’t help returning her smile.

  “Shall I order for you?”

  “What are my choices?”

  Roran read the menu to her as there were a limited number of entrées and suggested the one; he thought she would like; a meat and vegetable stir fry. Once they’d decided, he scanned the room for any being paying them undue attention.

  Momentarily, the alien waitress returned with two glasses of fruited wine and took their order. While they waited, Roran opened his tablet in flat screen mode to retrieve the file, Haemeg had left for him on the Farseek Brigade web. It was a holographic message that he played on the screen.

  Roran,

  If you are watching this, I am probably dead because I fucked up, and my last job went horribly wrong. You have to believe me that I didn’t know what I was delivering. It was a locked box with a lethal destruct feature had I tried to open it.

  I made the delivery to a Sargan operative, Rhazien Fadek. He had three layers of security I had to pass before I got to him. I had a bad feeling that I wouldn’t get out alive. When they made the funds transfer and let me go, I thought that was it.

  Then I learned what the Sargan’s did to Farseek. I wished they had killed me. But I still don’t know why they singled Farseek out. Find whoever paid the money, and you will know why. Find them and make them pay.

  It won’t make right what I did. I will never have the life I planned with Kasha or the children we hoped for. For what it’s worth, I am sorry. I betrayed our people, and I will pay for eternity.”