OMEGA Exile (3 page)

"I was reaching for my blaster when they entered."

Paq looked back at the door and then back my way. "I’m supposed to believe that an Igari outdrew you?"

Ogu began to speak again. "He—"

I held out my hand for Ogu to stop. "Captain, they entered with weapons raised. The Alliance needs experienced detectives, not dead ones. If we are finished here, I would like to get on with my lunch, as I have yet to eat."

Paq squinted his eyes and looked away. The officers of the station security force had once been close partners with those of the inspection detectives. In recent years, the trust and brotherhood that had previously joined the two had been divided by the new politics of the Alliance. Each side seemed eager to belittle or turn in the other should the occasion arise. The Captain, secure in my story, turned to leave before raising questions through his own actions.

When the commotion had fully ended, a single guard stood out in the hallway as a coroner’s crew cleaned up the remains of the fallen security force members. Twenty had perished in the fight. The single Igari citizen who had died as a result of a battle wound had been dragged away by his own. After thorough questioning by a guard force inspector, I was released and sat down for a meal.

Ogu spoke. "I’ve seen the news of riots on a few of the planets. That is the first discord, other than talk, that I have witnessed on this station. And, that was far more than a riot. That was a planned assault."

Betty nodded. "I’ve heard a few grumblings of late, but nothing that would rise to the level of that. That old Igari sounded like he’s planning a revolution."

I replied, "The people are unhappy. They can only take so much from the families before they do just what we saw out there. The way things are going, I would expect to see more of this. I was just told to not take any ships under my inspection that were flying under the Salton family flag. That smacks of corruption. If we are seeing this kind of lawlessness here, imagine what it is like out in the far sectors."

Our discussion about the state of the Alliance went on for several hours. After settling up my tab and saying goodbye to Betty and Ogu, I headed back to the
Daunte
. I would spend the remainder of my time on the ship alone. A planned visit to see my wife and children, who were living on the planet Balimus II, was not authorized. I would see them again in four months when my current shift came to an end.

As I approached the ship, I sent the code to open the hatch. A ramp-way dropped down below the ship, and I climbed the eight steps up into the ship’s hold. I turned and looked back down at the deck as a whiff of animal smell entered my nostrils. Most Gruntas had an excellent sense of smell, and I was no exception.

When I turned back, I was facing a 130-pound drooling beast. It was staring at me with an intent that was not friendly. It was a Human dog called a Rottweiler. Humans loved their pets, and the fact that a Rottweiler was standing in front of me told me there was a Human somewhere nearby. I took another sniff and detected just a hint of a perfume.

"Who’s there? This is a government ship!"

A short, thin, brunette Human stepped out from the cockpit. "You must be Knog. Sorry for the intrusion, but I got tired of waiting to be introduced. I was supposed to meet you here tomorrow. I’m Jonias Salton, by the way. And this is my friend Raptor. He’s as friendly as they come once he trusts you."

The brunette stepped forward and held out her hand. "I hope this doesn’t get us off on the wrong foot. The Chief said you were a stickler for protocol. You were also their highest-ranking and longest-serving inspector. That’s why my father chose you. He wanted his daughter to be safe. I suppose it will be in my favor to learn from the best, but I’m sure they are going to give us nothing but cream-puff assignments. I just wish they would let me have a little independence, that’s all."

Jonias’s tiny hand was swallowed up in my big Grunta palm. "Jonias, you really shouldn’t board ships without asking first. I wasn’t prepared for guests."

Jonias looked around. "Wasn’t prepared? This place is spotless! I’ve been on ships with a complete household staff that weren’t as clean as this. Oh, and call me Joni. My father named me Jonias because he wanted a boy."

Joni walked over and opened a door. "Is this my room? I noticed it was kind of sparse, which is fine. I’ll have it cluttered up with my junk in no time."

"That is my quarters, and I would ask that you not invade my space further. The far door is yours."

Joni turned back with a sheepish smile. "That one? The big room? I would have thought you would be in that one. Even the bunk is bigger!"

I stepped forward and closed the door to my room. "I prefer this one. It’s closer to the holding cell, where I can better watch over anyone I have taken into custody."

Joni gave an odd look. "You are taller than the bed is long in there. How is it that you sleep?"

I replied, "The personal sleeping habits of a Grunta are just that, personal. Now, if you would like to take possession of your room, please feel free to do so. I have work to do in the cockpit."

As I turned back, the Rottweiler named Raptor was standing in my way. "Oh, you have to pet him. He requires a petting toll from anyone who wants to pass. No pet, no pass."

I leaned down and exposed my teeth with a growl. Most animals, and beings, would turn and flee at the sight of an unhappy Grunta. The Human dog stood firm, offering up a growl of its own.

Joni laughed. "Really, he won’t move unless you pet him. And your little show right there—if he didn’t like you, he would have been all over you like a raw Borak steak. Just pay his fee and he will move."

I reached down, placing the dog’s head in the palm of my hand. I grudgingly spun my wrist from side to side and was soon rewarded as the fierce dog rolled slowly over onto his back with his feet up in the air, exposing his soft underbelly.

Joni spoke. "Wow, I’ve only seen him do that for my father. You must have a touch with animals."

I shook my head. "Gruntas and animals generally don’t mix. We don’t have pets, because most don’t care for our pheromones."

I reached down further and gently scratched his belly. The dog turned his head away in a submissive gesture.

Joni laughed. "You better watch it, or he is going to be humping your leg!"

I straightened and proceeded to the cockpit, sitting in the plush pilot’s chair in front of the holo-displays. I pulled up the coming schedule to see only a blank screen.

Joni was standing over me. "That’s what I was just checking when you came aboard. I was hoping we could get an early start on an inspection."

Joni plopped down in the copilot’s chair and spun it in my direction. "Can we at least take her out for a run? I’ve logged over three hundred hours in the simulator for this ship. I know all the systems and how they work. I read everything I can when it comes to something I am interested in. I’ve always been like that. Having to know everything."

I spoke. "In the future, I would prefer if you asked before making use of the
Daunte
’s systems. I try to keep things in good order so they are set to what I am expecting when I expect them to be. If I am expecting the ship’s gravity to be set at 1.1, I don't want to twist the dial a notch, thinking that it has move to 1.2, only to find that it is only on 0.9. Those are the things that will make a Grunta unpleasant."

Joni threw her hands in the air as she spun her chair to face forward. "Oookay! Joni will keep her hands off the instruments. Say, I’m getting kind of hungry. What do we have to eat in the ship’s stores?"

Joni stood and walked back to the food store and opened the door. "Wait! Coffee! And this is the good stuff. I haven’t had a cup in three weeks. You have two big crates of Orientus! I haven’t had Orientus since my dad came to see me five months ago."

I stood from my chair and walked back to the galley. "I thought Humans visit their offspring more frequently than that. I have eighteen little Gruntas at home, but our breaks only come every six months. If you are a Salton, I would think they would keep you close?"

Joni offered a half smile. "Yeah, they stay close if you are in the family business. I don’t have much of an appetite for politics, though. My little brothers, now they get the attention of their father, and our mother. Garrett is twelve and Rodney is ten. They are the two boys my father was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, he has never mistreated me or denied me anything that I want or need. It’s just... he has never been supportive of me doing what I want to do. I didn’t get into the academy until he was good and fed up with me pestering him. And now, here I am."

I prepped the brewer for a cup of the Orientus, "Gruntas also encourage our young to select a worthwhile pursuit. However, when a field of study is selected, whether it be a pursuit of science or tunnel mining, we offer our full support. They may fail or they may select a new career afterward, but we push them to be their best."

Joni pointed. "Now that is an ideal family right there."

I topped off the cup and gently handed her the steaming mug. "We have out issues as well. There are only two periods in a female Grunta’s lifetime that she is fertile. If she has not retained a mate, she will go looking among those who are spoken for. If the two females come in contact with one another, there is no stopping the savage fight to the death that will ensue. Gruntas mate for life, and a second mate is forbidden. In families where this has happened, the husband usually works far away from home until the offspring have been raised."

Joni sipped at the hot coffee. "Mmm. Oh this is so good. You know, Humans don’t have any restrictions on marriage. You don’t like your spouse, you dump ’em and find another. Of course, that is not most Humans, just the ones you hear about. Take my uncle: he has three daughters by three different wives. He keeps looking for a son as well, and let me tell you, those three are anything but boys. They are spoiled and pampered beyond belief."

I poured a cup for myself as well. "And why is it that Joni had no interest in the easy life? I don’t know of many who would turn that down to be a detective."

Joni shook her head. "If I did that, I would be going to constant events where I would be paraded around as something special. I can’t stand the lot of them. Just a bunch of rotten, selfish—"

A voice came up the stairwell. "Knog? Are you up there?"

I took a sip as I sat on a stool by the counter. "Yes, Captain. Come on up. Miss Salton is already here."

The Captain came up the steps with a big grin on his face. "Miss Salton? Detective Captain Paq Wendell. I have been looking all over for you at the guest quarters and at your hotel. Is everything OK?"

As the Captain made it to the last step, he froze in fear. Raptor was staring at him with the same leery gaze that had been cast upon me.

Joni spoke. "Just give him a second to feel you out, Captain. I would advise that you don’t make any sudden moves."

The Captain stood in silence for several seconds. "Miss Salton, you have obviously met Mr. Beutcher. Is there anything at all that I can be of assistance with? Food stores? Upgraded bed linens?"

Joni shook her head. "Nope. I think I’m golden right now, Captain. Oh, wait, you could go fetch a couple of Borak steaks for Raptor. He likes Borak."

The Captain nodded. "I could do that."

Joni held up her hand and made a
shoo
gesture. "He hasn’t eaten at all today. Is that something you could go do now?"

The Captain raised his thumb. "Got it. I’ll be right back, Miss Salton."

The Captain glanced back at the dog and then hustled down the stairs.

Joni spoke. "I hate suck-ups."

I smiled. "Take it easy on the Captain. He’s a good man. He has always treated his people fairly. Your showing up here under his command just has him a little rattled. If it comes down to the hard decisions, you should be able to trust him to do what’s right."

Joni held up her cup. "I like you, Mr. Beutcher. You don’t have a problem with telling it like it is. And you haven’t been drooling all over me like a rotty puppy."

I turned up my cup and then set it on the counter. "You have to remember, Joni, people fear your family. With the twitch of a lip or the wave of a hand, a citizen’s life could be ruined or taken away entirely. You don’t appear to be that way, at least not as yet, but your family name brings a weight with it that most fear to carry."

I chuckled to myself.

Joni gave an inquiring look. "What was that? You laughed."

I nodded. "I was just thinking about your statement earlier, that you liked me. I kind of like you so far too. You have that spunk or brashness, a fearlessness really, that will either take you to the top of the detective ranks or lead you to a horrible early death."

Joni laughed. "Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, Mr. Beutcher. I think."

Ten minutes later, the Captain returned with a pair of raw Borak steaks for Raptor. Joni restrained her dislike for his repeated attempts at favor as I was given the task of feeding the dog. I held out the steak with a serious look on my face. The rotty drooled as the steak neared his mouth, but he didn’t make a move on it. I dropped the steak on the floor as Joni and the Captain looked on; the 130 pounds of canine muscle remained staring at my face. I stood straight and then nodded. The dog attacked the steak with a savage ferocity.

Joni spoke. "I am impressed! I think that dog respects you more than anyone I know, including me!"

I looked over at the Captain. "Sometimes a little restraint and patience can be good qualities, huh, Captain?"

The Captain slightly squinted one eye as he tried to think of where he had heard that before.

Joni Salton then stood. "Captain, if you don’t mind, we would like to take the
Daunte
out for a little run. We will check back with you when we return."

The Rottweiler continued to devour the steak as one eye stayed on the Captain. As the Captain walked to the bottom of the stairs, he turned and looked back up. "Mr. Beutcher, may I have a quick word with you down here?"

I took Joni’s cup with mine and placed the two in the autowash. I smiled at Joni as I turned and stepped down the stairs.

When I was standing on the deck, the Captain pulled me to the side, out of Raptor’s view. "Look, take her out for a run around the station a couple times or maybe circle around Gelnac Colony or something. Keep her close, Knog. You may not realize it, but there are forces out there that want her kidnapped or dead. I believe that little insurrection we witnessed today was an attempt to somehow get to her, or at least to send a message to the royals. So, don’t do anything foolish out there. Just a clean run in and out."

So there it was. The ruling families were now being called royals. I wondered how long it would be before Harden Salton was crowned king. I looked back at the narrow steps, on one side of the ramp-way, that ran up into the
Daunte
. At the top sat a twenty-year-old girl who had more power at her disposal than most could ever dream of. Yet, she had no interest in having or holding that power. The more I knew about Jonias Salton, the more I liked her.

I placed my hand on the Captain’s shoulder. "I will take good care of her, Sir. If you would like, I can leave the transfer transponder running the whole time we are out there. If any emergency should occur, you could sweep us immediately back to here."

The Captain shook his head. "Thanks for the suggestion, but that won’t be necessary. Just try to keep her safe and don’t be taking any risks out there."

As I turned to go back up the stairs, the Captain’s response seemed out of place. My offer of the transponder remaining on was a solid solution to potential threats. I was left wondering if I was not being told everything about Joni’s security. As I reached the top of the stairs, I pressed the button to close the ramp-way.

Joni joined me in the cockpit. "So, where are we going?"

I punched up the nav screen on the holo-display, and after several swipes I had the planet Gelnac and the Gelnac colony floating in front of me. "Gelnac should be a simple run. There is a large comet moving in close to the Gelnac sun. We can do a flyby. It won’t be a riveting trip for you, but at least it will have something of interest."

I turned toward Joni. "Other than the Captain showing up here, I haven’t seen any security looking out for you. The Captain made a good point that you are a high-value target. I would have thought you would have a bodyguard or two at least."