In Search of the Uldans, page 31
part #2 of Galactogon Series
The girl had some tricks up her sleeve.
“I am traveling with the diplomatic mission as an engineer. I am ready to be tested and prove my professional qualifications,” I insisted on my cover story, ignoring the fox’s words. It could well be that she was trying to bluff me.
“Like I told you, they’ve come for the Lira,” came a familiar voice. A shadow separated from the wall and assumed the form of none other than Aalor. Liberium did not forgive its foes, especially ostentatious ones like me.
“So this is your informant?” I managed an easy laugh. “Aalor, have you apprised the princess about your cruiser’s inglorious end at my hands? You’ve followed me seeking revenge. It is said that that is a dish best served cold.”
“Revenge? Aalor, is this true?” Lumara turned around.
“It is, but my personal relationship with Surgeon has nothing to do with the Precians coming here to steal the pedestal of the Vengeance.”
“Prove it,” I continued to ply my line. “Princess, let’s get to the testing. It is silly to trust the words of someone seeking revenge. I can easily prove that I am who I say I am. I have too little time to spend on this human’s false accusations.”
A long pause ensued. My words had struck home with Lumara. Perhaps, if Aalor were not here, I would even be able to push it, but my opponent was not going to give up so easily.
“I can provide proof too! It is right here, princess. I am sending you the file now,” the Liberium officer sent over a video to the fox. Puzzled, Lumara accepted it and started watching. Her face grew longer with every passing second.
“But the viceroy…” the princess began in surprise, but Aalor cut her off.
“We can discuss this without Surgeon.”
Too late. I figured that the video was of my meeting with the adviser—and it was the viceroy himself who had leaked it. He was the only one who had received the adviser’s instructions. Despite the bind I was in, I cast Aalor a malevolent smirk. It was impossible to see his reaction behind his visor, but I was sure he had understood me. He had just set up his entire guild, revealing their informant. I was certain that if the adviser found out about Liberium’s betrayal, the Precian Empire would forever be off limits to this guild. I’ll be sure to negotiate the price of my silence with Vargen.
Lumara finally watched the video and turned on Aalor:
“The pedestal was presented to my father the emperor by the head of the Jolly Roger. What is the Vengeance? Why do the Precians seek it?”
“The viceroy does not know this,” Aalor no longer even bothered to conceal the identity of the informant. “But he is sure that it is a weapon to fight the Zatrathi. The entire idea is nonsense however. The third part of the weapon has disappeared.”
“If the Corsican gave us the pedestal, he may know where the third item is located. I will speak with him,” the princess said pensively, causing me to mentally add her to my list of important NPCs. If she had a line of communication to the Corsican, then she could put in a good word for me.
“What will happen with Surgeon?” asked Aalor.
“He and the Precians shall be expelled. The viceroy should remain. We will look out for him. The Precians would not forgive his betrayal.”
“Princess, do not rush to expel me,” I refused to stand by idly. “It is true that I seek the pedestal, but I am willing to exchange information to obtain it.”
“What is the Vengeance?” came the counter question.
“It doesn’t matter now. In two days the Delvian Empire will suffer a crushing blow.”
“Do you mean the Zatrathi assault? We are already preparing for it. The enemy will not triumph.”
So, Ash decided to involve not only players, but the NPCs too. A reasonable move, even if it slightly spoiled my plans.
“In that case, there are two other issues to discuss. First, I want to meet with the emperor and receive my rightful reward for destroying the Zatrathi flying fortress. Second, your sister is with child and I know who the father is.”
“What?!” Lumara loomed over my dome, dumbfounded by the news. Her cybernetic body flushed the color of garland. With such nerves, she should probably avoid the poker table.
“I want the reward I earned,” I repeated, as if nothing had happened. “I happen to be the first person to destroy a flying fortress. The Precians can tell you about how I did this.”
“To hell with your reward! What did you say about my sister?”
“I’m not going to talk about that while he’s here.”
“Leave us,” Lumara barked at Aalor without turning around. Not in a position to argue, Aalor had no choice but to make himself sparse. But I was not deceived. There were certain to be cloaked guards around us—no one would leave a princess, even one as odd as this one, alone. Still, this did not bother me—I had already gotten rid of the one enemy that could disrupt my plans.
“Well?” Lumara began pacing the room from impatience.
“I want three things. The first is the pedestal. Second, I must inform the father of the princess’s baby of her current state. The princess asked me to tell him what happened. Third, I want you to call the Corsican and find out where I can find the third part of the Vengeance.”
“How can I know that you’re not lying? Why should I trust you?”
“You’ll just have to. I can’t send you the video of my meeting with your sister because the Precians have my ship.”
“The viceroy brought it with him,” said Lumara, reflecting on my demands. “The orbship is on our planet. I was saving it for later. I wouldn’t mind digging in her innards. I have never had a chance to examine a ship of that class.”
“And you never will,” I said sharply. “She is my ship, and I won’t let anyone do anything with her. Requirement number four: You return the orbship to me safe and sound. What is your decision?”
In principle, the viceroy had acted logically enough—he was planning on betraying me to the Delvians along with my ship. All he would have to do is show Brainiac that I was aboard his cruiser and the Warlock would follow us. As soon as I get back, I will set up some secure line of communication with the ship. This is the second time I’ve lost contact with her.
“You ask too much,” Lumara replied. “I can arrange a meeting with the baby’s father. You can tell him about my sister. I can call the Corsican and ask about the third part of the Vengeance, but I am not sure that he will answer. I can return your ship to you under one condition—you give me a tour of her. I wish to see the orbship with my own eyes. The Hansa people speak very highly of her. As for the Lira—this demand is out of the question. It is a present to our empire. No one has the right to take it away. I would not agree to this even for my sister’s sake.”
It was already obvious to me that no member of the imperial family would agree to hand the Lira over to a simple player, but it was worth a try. What I need to do right now is sigh languidly and convincingly, demonstrating an epic internal struggle, and then propose new conditions more acceptable to both of us.
“I understand about the pedestal. I am prepared to offer an alternative demand. Confirm my stay on your planet as a Precian engineer. You can do whatever you like with the viceroy. I will speak to Aalor’s boss about the cost of my silence. I imagine that if you work over the traitor properly, he will make an excellent spy. Surely you don’t have any spies in the Precian Empire of a viceroy’s rank and stature? The head of a trading planet…a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“You are prepared to betray the Precians? Are you stranger to your people?”
“My people? I am a pirate!” I even injected a dose of hurt into my voice. “I have no people. My life is catch, plunder, release and catch again…to plunder once more. There is no place for patriotism or syrupy love for any one empire among these important activities. I fight for those who pay me the most.”
“A pirate?” Lumara’s muzzle wrinkled in displeasure. “How much do you want for information about the Vengeance, pirate?”
Lumara had understood me and the conversation turned in the right direction.
“Information for information,” I made another attempt to bargain. “I am interested in anything to do with the Uldans. Finding the orbship has kindled an interest in alien archaeology within me. Their way of life, technology, records. Even just stories concerning the Uldans will do.”
“So you’re an archaeologist too, are you?” the fox looked surprised. “You’ve read many ancient tales about noble pirates that once plied space, robbed the rich and gave money to the poor?”
“That’s right. I give to the poor to make them rich so I can rob them later,” I said. “I think the meaning of being a pirate is constant plunder. For example, I like to steal information.”
“What is the Vengeance for?” Lumara asked again, yet this time I was ready to answer her. The princess didn’t say no to my request for information sharing, therefore she’d be willing to compromise. It was impossible to go too far.
“A weapon of last resort,” I repeated the words of the Precian adviser.
“The Precians are ready to sacrifice their relationships over a single shot?” asked the fox, having understood the principle of the Vengeance.
“Fired at the right moment, even a single shot can bring victory,” I said philosophically. “When will my audience with the emperor take place?”
“Tomorrow. My father is busy today. We are making our final preparations for the offensive. I imagine I can allow the Precians to land on our planet. We will assume that you have passed the test. You will be taken to your ship where you must remain until tomorrow. You are not allowed to enter the palace. I will come by in the morning. And I’ll take a look at your orbship.”
Lumara paused, drilling me with her gaze. Unable to bear it, she asked:
“What’s his name?”
“Alviaan. First Councilor of the Delvian Emperor.”
“What the…!” Lumara cursed. “That trifling fop! Tomorrow morning I will visit you aboard your ship with him. Get the video ready. It’ll be picked up in the evening. Bear in mind, Surgeon, if you lied to me, I will do everything possible to ensure that no empire will deal with you again. Do you understand me?”
“Then I will add one more requirement,” I decided to squeeze some more out of Lumara. “I want one of your inventions. Specifically, a comm unit that can keep me in touch with my ship regardless of whether I have an armor suit or not. I don’t imagine that I have to prove my honesty to you anymore and I can’t count on always having my armor suit with me.”
“Accepted,” Lumara grinned and hurried to the exit. Already at the door she added: “Take him to the ship. He is to be treated as a guest with certain restrictions.”
You have been granted access to the capital of the Delvian Empire.
Another shadow split from the wall, this time turning into an android. The jammer field disappeared, giving way to a manipulator’s beam. I prepared to encounter all the corners and doorjambs in the place again, but the android moved me carefully. Having safely reached my ship, I put on the suit and listened to the crew’s report.
“Cap’n, I have a proposition that is almost genius,” the snake declared at once. “Let’s get out of here.”
“What’s wrong?” I sighed with relief, climbing into my metal shell. It was much safer inside than out in the open.
“It’s all wrong. After they kidnapped you, they tried to hack us and then destroy us. We couldn’t get in touch with you and didn’t know what to do. Then they brought us here and we even decided to self-destruct just as you reappeared. Now, of course, you will start saying that everything is fine, that we shouldn’t panic and all that, but I haven’t told you the most important thing yet. Out of boredom, I began comparing the data we downloaded from the Zatrathi fortress from the data we got off that scout. Something doesn’t add up. I can’t say what exactly, but my intuition tells me that we need to get out of here ASAP. The Zatrathi aren’t planning on conquering the Delvian Empire—they want to destroy it outright. And if so, why would they even come here? They’ll simply strike from afar with some terrible weapon and—boom—no more Delvians. And they’ll get anyone who works with them in the process. The Zatrathi know how to rupture planetary spirit bindings—what if their weapon can do this too? I repeat, there is little information, it is contradictory, but the general message is that we need to fly away from here!”
“I will meet with the emperor tomorrow morning and then we can leave,” I agreed. If the snake was panicking, it was a good idea to heed her advice. Given the large number of derelict scouts encountered by the players, everything that was going on smelled like a Zatrathi ploy. First no one could even get close to their ships, then suddenly they were a dime a dozen. And every one carried the same data. If this was the situation, we needed to act quickly. I spent the rest of the day holding colorful negotiations with Vargen. Liberium’s leader resisted to the last, trying to pay me off with GCs, but I at last forced him to put the play money away. Five hundred thousand real credits replenished my family budget.
In the evening, Lumara’s people showed up and I gave them the video. Only having done that did I permit myself to exit the game. My body needed a break in the form of sleep.
* * *
“There are visitors outside, requesting permission to board. There are visitors outside, requesting permission to board. There are visitors outside, requesting permission to board. There are visitors…”
It was of course possible to wake me up in some less monotonous manner, but I guess Brainiac was taking it out on me for allowing the Delvian girl to rummage around his tender guts. Shaking my head to clear the remaining drowsiness, I ordered the guests to be permitted aboard. First came an inspection team to check whether there was any undeclared biomatter on board, then two secret service foxes stuck their noses in all the nooks of the ship, and, having made sure that there were no enemies, Lumara stepped on board along with a handsome Delvian and a ton of gadgets. Whereas the Precian adviser seemed like a kind uncle, this Delvian aristocrat tried his best to show his superiority over everyone around him.
“The princess said that you had important information for me,” Alviaan’s tone matched his appearance. Arrogance multiplied by vanity. I was surprised that the adviser had not seen my video but I just sent him another copy. The NPC began watching it and after the video ended, I received a notification:
Mission accomplished: The Stork and the Fox. Reward: A slight nod of gratitude from Alviaan, First Councilor of the Delvian Emperor.
I almost laughed when I saw the reward. Alviaan cast me another arrogant look, nodded slightly expressing his gratitude, and silently left the ship. Ain’t it just like this all the time though? You place all your hopes into some job and when you’ve done it you get the merest of nods. I had the urge to let this nodder have it in his teeth, come what may.
Lumara did not follow Alviaan, nor notice his departure, as she was engrossed with her examination of my ship.
“Cool crew you got there,” the princess’s eyes came to rest on Sebastian and Tryd. The viceroy had brought the ship along with the pirate. “A pirate and a thief. A Delvian and a Qualian. Outcasts and fugitive criminals. Do you go out of your way to recruit this rabble? I’m surprised you let a Qualian on board. You had a hand in turning them into the rogue state of Galactogon—yet here is one of their number traveling with you. Consistency is not your strongest trait, is it?”
“No, I just don’t care what race my crew members are. Tryd’s a Delvian; does it follow that all Delvians are criminals?”
“I agree. Race has no meaning,” Lumara nodded, pleased. “Don’t judge Alviaan too harshly. He’s still not sure whether he should be happy or distraught over the news, and arrogance is his way of hiding his feelings. We are not all like that. My father recently demoted him from Councilor for having dishonored my sister. Alviaan is beginning to learn what it means to be part of the imperial family. Today, his engagement with Niola will be announced, and I will finally be free.”
“The princess will be allowed to leave the planet?”
“Maybe. Here I am a princess and that’s it,” Lumara said. “Out there, I am an engineer, the head of the Pamir Industrial Corporation, a Delvian, a simple creature. Anyone, just not a princess. By the way, if you hadn’t arrived with your news, I’d still be stuck here. How I hate all these ceremonies. I don’t intend on leaving the planet—it’s not bad here, after all. But I’m not in the habit of remaining in debt. Here—this is what you asked for.”
I arranged all the data in my head, finally completing the portrait of the princess. Before her sister was kidnapped, Lumara occupied herself with whatever interested her. Her soul sought technical knowledge and engineering practice, not court etiquette. Returning to her native land and the status of heiress was akin to hard labor for the Delvian. No wonder she was so pleased to hear about the birth of a potential heir. It meant her freedom. For some reason, I was filled with sympathy for the Delvian and wished she could join my crew. The snake could deal with shields and repairs, while the princess could work on new developments for the ship. Oh, daydreams!
