My Life: An Ex-Quarterback's Adventures in the Galactic Empire (32 page)

Angel delivered his opinion on this performance when he sidled up to me and said in English, “Christ, Danny, that one’s a fag if ever I’ve seen one.”

“Shut up, Angel.”

We stopped at our quarters only long enough for a glimpse. There were three small rooms branching off a common atrium. Comfortable, but they had no windows. Then, it was onward, so as not to keep the gubernatorial stomach waiting any longer than necessary.

Aalaza was waiting for us in what had to be the executive dining room. The table was a massive single piece of wood, with a grain and polish that made me feel as if I was looking
into
the wood. Eight chairs, intricately carved with individual designs, surrounded the table. Two of the eight were occupied, one by Aalaza. In the other sat an older Srihani who was introduced only as an advisor on defense. Aalaza dismissed Syranna with an offhand wave.Following introductions the food was brought by Srihani servants. In a society where anyone could have mechanical servants, it was a badge of power to be waited on by live ones. The meal would have put the ancient Romans to shame. Course after course of artistically arranged meats and vegetables came out, interspersed with soups. I ate sparingly because I was expecting a protracted after-dinner discussion. I noticed that Jaenna did the same, her eyes never leaving Aalaza and his advisor. As for Angel and the other guards, I thought we would need wheelbarrows to bring them back to the rooms. It was very late before the table was cleared and hot drinks were placed in front of each of us.

Finally, Aalaza got down to business—sort of. “Captain Danny, it has been an honor to have you here,” he began. Then he sang the praises of Calldlamm and Carrillacki. I couldn’t help wondering why, if this was such a great place, there were walls and armed guards around everything? Of course, we had much the same on Earth and the empire was at least as violent a place as Earth. Something else bothered me, though, and in concentrating on that, I missed most of his panegyric. That was why, when he said, “I hope you will be interested in joining us,” I came up with a start.

“Excuse me?”

He must have thought I was overwhelmed by the offer, so he spelled it out. “I am offering you a commission as captain, the same rank you currently claim—but a
legitimate
commission. A captain of the Fleet, with first loyalty to Carrillacki. I gain within Carrillacki for having recruited you. You gain legitimacy.”

Right then, I knew what had been bothering me. I’d become so used to everyone snarling “scum” in the same breath as “freebooter” that the sweetness and light routine made me suspicious. Also, he was offering me a commission, not a contract. That would bring me under Carrillacki orders. I looked around the table. Jaenna and Angel were silent, but their faces told me that they shared my unease.

“Governor Aalaza, I thank you for your generosity, but I thought we were to discuss a contract of association. A commission, I believe, would place us under your orders.”

“We cannot have a contract of association with a freebooter,” he replied. “You would have to be subject to our orders.”

Now I was really getting nervous. I could have kept the discussion going, but I felt that if there was to be no agreement we should finish it quickly. “I’m sorry, then. No deal.”

“Please, please, Captain Danny,” Aalaza said. “Do not be so hasty.” I slid back into my chair. “If it is the payment for the cynta you are concerned about, I can give you assurances.”

Which might prove to be worthless later on. “I think not,” I answered.

Aalaza let out a long sigh. “I am afraid, Captain Danny, that you do not have much choice.”

“Why not?” I figured it was time to be direct.

Aalaza gave me a thin smile. “As I recall,” he said, “and I’m sure you do too, your ship was an Imperial cruiser you captured in combat. The empire considers that capture a significant crime. The only way to erase that is for you to join us, in which case the issue is moot.”

I was incredulous. “Since when has Carrillacki ever concerned itself with what happens to the Fleet?”

“Apparently you are a bit behind in your current events,” he replied. “The Emperor Jerem met with the Council of the Kvenningari on Albane to negotiate an end to the Game of Empire. The negotiation did not go well for the emperor. It culminated in a series of battles in which his escort ships were wiped out, and he surrendered to Carrillacki. Consequently, Carrillacki represents the interests of the emperor again. While I agree that normally we would not concern ourselves with the Fleet, the theft of a cruiser by a freebooter cannot be ignored. I will, of course, extend a complete pardon when you join Carrillacki, which the emperor will endorse. You understand, I’m sure, that since you were not completely willing, you will have to take another ship, but that is a small price to pay for the pardon and your future success. Otherwise, you must answer for your crime. It will not bring me as much status in Carrillacki as if you join us, so you see our interests coincide.”

“You’re threatening me while my ship sits up there with more firepower than you have in your system? You’re out of your mind!”

“Not at all,” Aalaza said. “Regardless of what you do, your crew is going to hear that you have joined Carrillacki. They are unlikely to do much about it. Even if they suspect otherwise, I doubt that they will try to take on a whole Imperial system. In the long run, it would not pay. Besides, your crew are freebooters, Captain. We know what kind of loyalties run in the Outer Empire. They will be just as happy under the officers up there now, or a Carrillacki officer. Of course, they are more likely to come over if you order it, but I expect to convince them even if you don’t. So, be reasonable, Captain. If I have neither your cooperation nor the ship, I will have to make what I can out of your execution.” Aalaza tipped his head a fraction of an inch and a squad of guards appeared at the perimeter of the room.

I wanted to tell that smiling asshole that Ruoni was, in fact, likely to bombard the city on suspicion, but I stifled the urge. He wouldn’t have believed me, and even if he had, it would only have prompted him to act more decisively against the ship. I settled for telling him that he was making a mistake he would regret.

“I think not,” he said. “I’m accustomed to making decisions and dealing with the consequences.” There was no visible signal, but when Aalaza finished speaking, two of his guards drew their weapons and fired. The two of my crew seated at the end of the table fell to the floor with mortal wounds in their chests.

“A decision and a consequence, Captain. I trust I have made my point without shouting.”

I swallowed hard and looked around the table. Angel’s face was a mask of fury. Jaenna’s was just a mask, but I could guess what was behind it. I would have loved to see what was showing on mine.

“Do you honestly think that I will work for you after that?” I asked, coming to my feet.

“Of course. One guard is as good as another. There are always more of them. Good captains, however, are hard to come by.”

He had killed two people just to add inflection to his silky voice. No wonder Aalaza lived behind a wall.

When it was clear that I wasn’t going to say anything, Aalaza spoke again. “Take the night to think it over, Captain Danny. I am sure by morning you will see that this offer is best for you and for your ship. The guards will show you back to your room after they relieve you of your comm gear.”

The squad did just that, put us into the room and closed the door. As soon as it was shut, I turned around to try it from our side. The touch plate did not respond. We were locked in.

“Jesus !” I exploded. “I can’t believe I walked us into this! But who would think that he would do all of this just to bag me?”

Jaenna said, “Sometimes, Danny, I don’t think you have a good estimate of your own worth.”

For the second time in one evening, I was speechless. There are a number of people who I wish could have heard that. It did not, however, help us to get out of that room. The five of us spent the next half hour searching the suite inch by inch looking for an exit. No dice. I was ready to give up when we heard a noise at the door. It slid open and Syranna stood in the opening.

“I
just wanted to see if everything was all right,” Syranna said. As he spoke, he stepped into the room. The door slid closed behind him.

“You son of a bitch!” Angel screamed and grabbed the astonished boy by the front of his tunic. Twisting around, Angel hurled him a good ten feet through the air. Syranna’s flight was interrupted by a wall and he crumpled.

“Wait!” Jaenna ordered. Angel’s foot was poised to work Syranna’s face into the pattern on the wall.

Slowly, Syranna pulled himself to a sitting position. He winced when he moved his right shoulder; otherwise, his expression was a mixture of fright and surprise.

“Why did you come here?” Jaenna demanded.

“I told you, I wanted to see that you had whatever you needed. I heard that Aalaza offered you a commission and I was hoping to hear that you had accepted. I didn’t expect you to hurt me.” Syranna sounded ready to cry.

“Did you hear,” I asked, “that Aalaza made his offer at the end of a blaster? And did you also hear that he shot two of my crew to make sure I gave it serious consideration?”

“I heard no such thing,” the boy insisted. “The governor would never do such a thing.”

“Well, if your education has reached the level of arithmetic, try counting. There were seven of us before dinner. There are only five now.”

“No,” Syranna whispered. Again, he looked ready to cry.

“Never mind that,” Jaenna broke in, “is this room monitored?”

“Of course,” he said, “all rooms are, but not on real time. The records are only scanned intermittently.” Unless, I thought, they were giving us special treatment, which, as far as I was concerned, was a certainty. Oh well.

Jaenna clearly had the same thought, but she was prepared. She pulled a small black capsule from under her cloak and set it down. It began to hum.

“I thought we might need to have a truly private conversation. We have these on Kaaran so I recognized it on the ship, but, unless our computer is very wrong, they won’t know about them here. No one seemed concerned by it on the scans.”

“What does it do?”

“Guaranteed to ruin their reception. They’ll probably think the problem is in their command console. Of course, it won’t help as far as Syranna’s getting launched into the wall, but I doubt they’ll make too big a fuss about seeing if he’s all right.” There was a touch of grim humor in her voice as she said it. “Now,” she said to Syranna, “this door opens to your touch?”

“Of course, how else would I have come in?”

“Good. How many guards out there now?”

“Two, at the intersection where this side corridor meets the main passage. But they are both armed,” he protested.

A little smile played around Jaenna’s lips. “I’m sure they are,” she said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a meeting go sour.” Then she turned to Angel. “See if you can find some way of trussing him up nice and tight once he opens the door.”

“No, please, wait,” Syranna protested as Angel started for one of the bedrooms. “Do you give me your word of honor that the governor did what you said?”

“I don’t see why I should assure you of anything,” I retorted.

“I need to know,” Syranna insisted.

“I told you how it was. Believe me or not, it’s your choice. It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Yes it does. If you can get out of the main building, there is a side exit through the compound wall. It opens only from the inside and it’s not guarded. I can show you where it is.”

“Why?” I turned on him angrily. We were wasting time and we didn’t know how much we had. “Why should you suddenly risk your neck to oppose your own governor? And why should we trust you to do it?”

Syranna tried to straighten up, even at the cost of pain from his injured shoulder. “A member of my family has held a high position in the Imperial administration of Calldlamm for generations. My father and my grandfather both taught me that there is a code that must be followed. There is a price for these positions. If I can help you, then at least my family will not be disgraced.” He tried hard to sound grown-up, although he couldn’t prevent his voice from trembling. It sounded like a speech his father or grandfather might have taught him. Sadly, Syranna was just too young to recognize it as another Imperial fiction.