OMEGA Exile (19 page)

Harden Salton had one final thing to say before his departure for an important meeting. "I want to thank you for taking care of my niece. I’m very fond of her, and I want her to be kept safe. She is young and strong-willed. Try to keep her from getting herself in too deep. If I am to one day pass all this on to another family member, she is the only one who shows enough guts to make the tough decisions."

I departed the meeting with more respect for him than I had come in with. Harden Salton was in a precarious position, not only with his own people, but with the other families as well. I felt his biggest problem was who he had surrounded himself with. He was in need of a wholesale replacement of his staff and friends. It was that need that would be the most difficult to satisfy. We departed soon after the gala for SS5.

As we rode in the transport toward the portal gates, the Chief spoke. "I don’t know what to say, Knog. A personal meeting with Harden Salton. That has to be the accomplishment of a lifetime."

I replied, "As it turns out, Mr. Salton is no different than anyone else. He has the same struggles, and the same things make him happy. He just needs to surround himself with a better group of people."

Jamia shook her head. "OK, I can tell you right now, you are going to have to watch what you say. Those other people can be ruthless and won’t have issue with doing away with anyone who gets in their way. They are powerful in their own right."

Joni said, "Knog is right, Chief. He needs to clean out his cabinet and bring in people who aren’t so political. Of course, that will never happen. That is the only support he has right now, and they will go running to the other families to betray him if they think he is going to make any changes they don’t like."

The Chief leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. "I’m just saying you need to watch who you repeat that to. I’ve been in this politics game for a while now, and I know how dirty it can get. Just watch yourself. Don’t needlessly make enemies."

The remaining ride was mostly silent. I walked up the steps into the
Daunte
and smiled as I rubbed a quietly waiting Raptor on the forehead. The assistant we had hired to watch over him was eager to leave.

I asked. "How was he? Did he give you any trouble?"

The assistant moved slowly over to the steps and only turned to answer when he had reached the deck. "Please don’t ask me to do that again. He just stared at me the entire time. I felt like I couldn’t do anything, or he was going to attack. I’ve been sitting in that chair with my hands in my lap for nine hours. I would thank you to not call me again."

Joni came up the steps as the hired assistant departed. "He’s leaving in a hurry. Looks like he’s in some discomfort."

I laughed. "I think the poor guy was too intimidated by our furry friend here to get out of his chair the entire time we were gone."

Joni shook her head. "Raptor wouldn’t hurt a fly unless one of us or this ship was threatened."

Joni leaned over to rub Raptor behind the ears. "You are just misunderstood, aren’t you. Can’t get anyone to play with you, poor thing."

Joni looked up at my shoulder. "Wow, five stars. You are truly in a unique group now. I may be a little intimidated by that myself."

I sighed as I sat in my chair. "The last two should be a different color."

Joni replied, "Why do you say that?"

I brushed the stars with my fingers. "Those two weren’t earned, they were political awards."

Joni shook her head as she laughed. "Please. If anything, those are the two you did earn. You stopped the pirating of a shipload of cesium, you pulled thirty thousand liters of bleurgh from misuse, and this last one stopped a revolution. I’m sorry, but those last two stars were earned. You are just too humble to accept that—which is a good thing, by the way."

The Chief was eager to parade her new five-star detective around the office for all to see. She was instead directed to get us back out in the field. I sat back in my chair wondering what would be coming our way. With the state of the New Alliance, I was certain we would see action soon enough.

Our next assignment was a week on Cardello. We would be spending our time in the main shipping terminal where all interstellar cargoes from the colony were being loaded and unloaded. I wondered if our time could be better spent elsewhere, but I also had to believe that the intel people who had given us this assignment had reason to do so. I made an effort to check that every manifest matched the cargo it supposedly listed. I was not making any friends.

Joni had spent most of her time in the transport office, ensuring that the manifests coming out to me were not being altered in any way. Again, her every request was made to angry glances. After the first contraband was found, the captains and manifest administrators cleaned up their acts. In my mind, it was exactly the way every port should be run. An independent team of auditors would bring smuggling through the main ports to a halt.

Five days into our assignment, I saw a small freighter coming in from Orwall. I was eager to get a look at its cargo. As the ship was landing, a Cardellian came out to meet me.

The Cardellian said, "Mr. Beutcher. You and your partner are to accompany me to a meeting with the port authority administrator. He would like to have a short discussion with the two of you."

I pointed at the Orwallian freighter. "I would be happy to meet with the administrator after this inspection."

The Cardellian replied, "I have been told to escort you to the meeting, and that any inspections can wait until the meeting is over. The administrator sends his assurance that no ships will be loaded or unloaded in your absence. The meeting is to be brief."

I looked back at the freighter and then back again at the Cardellian. "We come straight back here when we are done."

The Cardellian nodded. "I will bring you back personally."

We arrived in the conference room and were seated at the table. The Cardellian offered to get us a beverage. We both declined. We were then informed that the administrator was on his way.

"We finally get a ship in from Orwall," said Joni. "and they drag us away. I can’t say I like that."

I replied, "I find it a bit suspicious as well. I know the administrator to be a busy man, but I have to wonder if his not being here is just a delay tactic while they are unloading that cargo."

Ten minutes passed while we waited patiently for whatever purpose the administrator had called the meeting. I was agitated to the point of getting out of my chair to walk toward the door. The Cardellian was waiting just outside.

The Cardellian spoke. "I apologize, Mr. Beutcher. Administrator Ballis was held up in a meeting that ran long. He should be here momentarily."

I returned to my chair, unable to hide my anger. "If he isn’t here in the next three minutes, we are going back out to that shipping bay."

The Cardellian nodded.

Three minutes later, to the second, the administrator entered the conference room. "I am so sorry. I was delayed in a discussion about meeting our shipping quotas. It seems your checks have slowed things down to the point of delaying some shipments. However, you are not to worry over it, we are making adjustments."

I spoke. "What did you call us in here for?"

The Cardellian standing at the door stepped in and whispered to the administrator.

The administrator smiled and spoke. "I just wanted to thank you for doing such a thorough job. It has brought many of the captains in line with policy, and for that I would like to thank you."

"That’s it? You called us in here for almost twenty minutes for that?" The anger I heard in Joni's voice echoed my own.

The administrator raised his hands as he smiled. "That is all. I just wanted to thank you personally for your service."

We stood and exited the room and moved in a hurried walk back to the shipping bay. When we arrived, I caught a glimpse of a container being moved into a warehouse. I was certain it had come from the Orwallian freighter. I was also sure the Administrator would not allow a search of the warehouse. Our jurisdiction ended in the shipping bay itself.

Joni retrieved the manifest log for the freighter and joined me as we boarded. "What do you want to bet the bays are empty?"

I replied, "Pull up the manifest. Let’s see what it says."

The log was soon floating in the holo-display over Joni’s arm pad. "I see a count of fifteen hundred utility amplifiers and five thousand kilograms of that Bakka root you mentioned before. This is a small freighter, but that is a ridiculously small cargo for this ship."

The cargo holds were inspected, and they matched exactly to the manifest logs. I was certain there was other cargo that had been unloaded; however, I had no proof. The Cardellians had worked the system to move in a cargo from Orwall. I could only guess it was a load of the same illegal blaster tips we had confiscated before.

I punched a few numbers into my holo-display. "Given the size of that empty cargo space, I would say they have enough tips to build anywhere from two million to four million blasters."

I pulled up a list of shipping schedules. "I see that an identical-sized freighter, listing the same cargo, just landed on Zanus about an hour ago. I think we will be seeing our revolution anyway. The New Alliance will have enough weapons to counter a spread by these three rebel planets, but they won’t be able to prevent a revolution here. I think it best we pack up and head back to SS5. We may only be weeks away from something getting started, and the Cardellians are going to become very unfriendly the closer that time gets."

We departed the freighter and walked back to the
Daunte
. A report was filed and a request made for a sweep back to SS5. The request was quickly granted.

Gretchin was waiting with a new assignment. "Hello, gang. We are moving you to Adicus, where you will meet up with a liaison. They will fill you in on what is expected in the coming weeks. Your report from Cardello is troubling, to say the least."

I replied, "I just hope our report was in time for the organization to do something about it."

We were swept out to Adicus, where we landed the
Daunte
and stowed it in a government-controlled lot at the main spaceport. Adicus was 94 percent standard gravity, and as such I once again found myself hopping along as I walked. Our liaison met up with us in the government lounge adjacent to the lot.

The liaison, held out his hand. "I’ve been expecting you. Welcome to paradise. Morris Brassel."

I shook his hand and replied, "Thank you, Mr. Brassel."

Morris shook his head. "Hey, not so formal around here. Everyone just calls me Mo. If you do the same, there will be a lot less confusion on my part."

Joni took his hand. "Mo."

Mo pointed to the door. "If you don’t mind, I’m going to get started as we walk. I have an office on the other side of the spaceport."

As we stepped into the hallway, I asked. "What is it we are supposed to be doing here, Mo?"

Mo replied, "What? They didn’t tell you? How am I supposed to know?"

After several seconds of laughter, Mo continued: "I’m just jerking your chains. I have the assignment locked away up here in my head. Now if I can just remember where I put the key."

Again the silence was defining.

Mo said, "Boy, you two are a tough crowd. I guess I’m going to have to be all serious with you, because my attempts at humor are all bombing. Anyway, here is what we have. I have a friend who tells me that he knows where there is a large stash of blaster tips just waiting to be turned into weapons. I figured I needed help before trying to conduct any type of a raid. I was hoping for more than two people, though. The warehouse in question has several hundred people working there. You two must be something special if that’s all they are sending."

Mo looked up at my shoulder pad. "What the…? I don’t think I’ve ever seen four stars, let alone five. I guess you are something special, then."

I shook my head. "Nothing special, just in the right place at the right time, that’s all. You said we will be raiding a warehouse. Do we have diagrams of its layout? How many people are there, for what shifts? How many of those people are security rated or have weapons?"

Mo smiled. "I have all that and more waiting in my office. I’ve made it my business over the last two weeks to gather all the intel I could. I have shipping schedules, manager names—I even have the codes to break into the environmental system. What I needed was help, and I’ll have to say that only two people showing up is a bit of a shock."

Joni replied, "You said that this is only an unconfirmed rumor right now. I would think if you tried to barge in there with a group of people, you might end up with a small war on your hands. They probably just sent us to confirm the rumor. We can call for backup then if needed."

Mo shook his head. "Well, unless you have a magic wand, you aren’t going to get close to that place. They have it locked down tight."

As we turned the corner into Mo’s office, I said, "We came in under a government security flight, so we are unregistered. Do you know if the warehouse has any jobs posted? That would seem the easy way in."

Mo nodded. "I investigated that possibility. Almost all the workers are Igari. There aren’t any Humans, and I think they would be suspicious of any that applied. Gruntas are a different story. They usually aren’t involved in nefarious projects. Do you have any warehousing skills? Shipping, scheduling, billing, or accounting? They might even have need of a computer tech or programmer."

I replied, "The limit of my warehousing skills would probably be loading boxes. I am familiar with manifest logs, but only from an inspection viewpoint."

Mo nodded. "OK, hard labor it is. I don’t know if you are familiar with warehouse box lifting and stacking, but it is a physically demanding job. Most will only last a few weeks before they quit. They might actually appreciate the brute strength of a Grunta in there. I’ll get started on arranging a complete background for you—previous work references, a new name, and a reason for coming to Adicus. I’m thinking you are migrating and looking for a place to plant your family."

I crossed my arms as I leaned back in the chair. "For what reason would I migrate?"

Mo shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe the world you are coming from doesn’t have work. It shouldn’t be hard to find a cover that fits that scenario. Adicus is doing well right now because it’s harvest season. If the job is only temporary, well, that will work for us too. I would suggest you go out and tour around the city that surrounds this spaceport. You are going to have to ditch those stars and this girl."

Joni scowled. "Hey!"

Mo laughed. "No disrespect intended. It just won’t do him any good to be seen with a Human."

Joni replied, "Well, what am I supposed to do while he’s in the warehouse?"

Mo smiled. "You and I get to be the bad Humans. We will press for inspections, look for records, try to find any off-duty workers to pump for information. You know, the usual stuff. Meanwhile, Knog will be our eyes and ears on the inside. We just need a good name for him."

Joni raised her hand. "Oh, let me name him!"

Mo looked over at me. I shrugged.

Joni continued, "I’m thinking something like Bogg Huber."

Mo replied, "Knog, that sound like a Grunta name?"

I nodded. "It would do. I have heard of Chuber. Huber could easily be a variant of that."

Mo punched away at the keys on his old-style terminal. "Bogg Huber it is. Welcome to Adicus, Mr. Huber. Now we just need to outfit you with the proper clothing and a credit store. I have a much-older model here in my desk. I’ll get it activated and throw a couple hundred credits on there. Just enough for you to survive until you hit your first payday."

I replied, "You seem confident that I will acquire a job in the warehouse."

Mo nodded. "Like I said, it’s harvest season around here. They are always short of physical labor this time of year. It used to be that automated machines would do most of the harvest, but years of weak economies have most of those machines sitting idle and in need of repair. A strong back and sure hands are king around here now."

Joni spoke. "If you are wanting to build trust, you should talk bad about my family. That shouldn’t be too hard for you, since you’ve met them."

Mo looked at me with an inquisitive look. "Your family? You are saying you are of
the
Saltons?"

Joni laughed. "Uncle Harden says I am his favorite niece."

Mo sat back from his desk. "Well, this changes everything. I can’t have you going in that warehouse as a hostile. What if they were to grab you?"

Joni shook her head. "I would assume we could come up with a name for me as well. Forget about me being a Salton. Treat me like you would any other detective."

I spoke. "How about something like Jetta Squirrel?"

Joni snarled. "I’m not going to be called Jetta Squirrel!"

Mo laughed. "Actually, I think it’s kind of catchy. And it would certainly throw off any suspicion, because who would make such a name up?"

I nodded. "I think it fits. Jetta Squirrel, warehouse inspector, junior grade."

Joni winced. "Junior grade! How am I going to command any respect like that?"

Mo looked off in thought for moment and then returned. "I have to say, Bogg. I like it! The odd name and a junior title, it gives her reason to be unreasonable, which is what we want. I will work up a full ID for you on that, and I’ll have you being transferred here as my assistant from SS14. I know a few detectives there that can set up the cover for me. We are going to have to give you housing, clothes, the works."

The remainder of the day was spent in Mo’s office with the door closed. An aide came in with the biggest clothes he could find at a thrift store, and I walked down the hall to change. When I returned, Joni burst into laughter.

"What’s so funny? I kind of like these clothes."

Joni shook her head. "A flowery shirt? Really? You look like you are on holiday, not out looking for work!"

I replied, "This was common dress on Ketcheran IV, where I supposedly come from. Besides, how many Igari are going to laugh at a Grunta?"