Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals (19 page)

“I doubt anyone would think he was a spy, and he certainly doesn’t look like anyone that people would pay any attention.  Those are the kinds of people we need for this mission.  I don’t think we could pass him off as a trader crewman, though.  I’m just trying to figure out what role he could play as a slave.”

“I think I might be able to help you there, Tibby,” Kerabac interjected.  “Many Ruwallie Rasson have young male slaves like Padaran that they use as domestic servants to serve meals, run errands — all sorts of personal services that they may not want to assign to a female slave or that a female slave is not qualified to do.  One other thing in Padaran’s favor is that he can sing; he has a great tenor voice.  That is something highly prized by the Ruwallie Rasson; and if I can teach him a few of the favored tunes, I think we would be able to pass him off as a domestic slave very convincingly.”

I raised my wrist
com to my mouth and said, “Padaran, you may come back in now.”

Padaran entered with a questioning look on his face.  “Before I give you an answer, I want to see you demonstrate your martial arts skills.”

“Yes, sir.  When do you want me to meet you in the gym?”

“There won’t be any gym where we are going, and if we have to engage in combat, it won’t be in a gym.”  I slid my chair back and stood up.

Padaran’s eyes widened and he gulped.  “You’re not going to go up against me yourself, are you?”

“Indeed, I am.  Where we’re going, you won’t be able to pick and choose your adversaries or their abilities.”

I suddenly lunged at him, not using a martial arts move, but more of a physical tackle move.  Padaran responded properly, stepping back, grabbing my shirt and then stepping to the side as he tugged me in the direction I was already moving.  Had I not been prepared for this, I would have lost balance, giving him an advantage.  As it was, I grabbed his wrists and pulled him along with me as I dropped, dragging him over the top of me with some leg leverage and sending him flying.  I expected to see him land awkwardly on the floor, but he very effectively tucked and rolled, sprang up and land on his feet in a solid defensive position.

I walked toward him in a relaxed pose and smiling, extending my hand as if to congratulate him on a good performance.  He appeared to relax for a second.  When he did, I grabbed his arm, quickly turning into him and throwing him across my shoulder.  I was surprised to feel his hand grab the front of my shirt just as I was letting go of his arm.  Before I realized it, he had
ahold of my shirt with both hands and pulled me after him.

Now it was my turn to go flying through the air to tuck and roll and spring to my feet.  But by then, Padaran was already on his feet and moving in on me.  I dropped quickly, grabbed him by the legs as his arms swooped over me, and then heaved upward, throwing him completely off balance.  He landed hard on the floor.  This time he was not so quick to regain his balance or position, as the wind was knocked out of him.  Instantly, I had him in a controlled position from which he could not move.

“Well done, Padaran,” I said as I got to my feet and helped him up.  From the table, I heard Kerabac and Marranalis applauding.

“Damn, Tibby, the kid’s not bad.  I never would have expected that from him,” Marranalis said.

“Precisely, which is why I think he might be an excellent choice for this mission.  Padaran, I’ve not finalized my choices at this time, but you’re high on the list.  I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Padaran grinned from ear to ear.  “Thank you, sir.  I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You’ve not been chosen just yet, so don’t get too excited.”

Padaran turned, and I thought for a minute he was going to jump into the air and click his heels.  But instead, he adjusted his clothing and sort of strutted out the door, nearly bumping into a lovely, dark-skinned woman who was entering the room.  As she approached us, I noted that some of her facial features appeared to be much like Kerabac’s, but she was much lighter in complexion and a full head shorter.

“Greetings, Honored First Citizens,” she said, nodding to both Kala and myself.  In typical Federation fashion, she did not directly address the others, as generally persons in the Federation only addressed the highest-stationed individuals in a group.  Since both Kala and I shared the honor of the highest status the Federation bestowed on its citizens, we were both addressed in unison.

“My name is Endina.  I wish to present myself to be part of the crew for your undercover mission.”

“Greetings, Endina.  What role do you think you could best serve on this mission?”

“Sir, I am a trained navigator and also served as a patrol ship pilot with the Federation.”

I looked at Kerabac, who seemed to be giving Endina an appraising view.  “You appear to have some Ruwallie Rasson ancestry, judging by your appearance.”

“Yes, Captain.  My grandmother was white and was a slave of a Ruwallie Rasson before slavery ended and the planet joined the Federation.  After they became part of the Federation, my grandmother was freed and moved to Aburn.  At the time, she was pregnant and gave birth to my father there.  He met up with another woman whose mother also had been a Ruwallie Rasson slave freed under the same circumstances.  The two of them fell in love and bonded and my brothers and I all share both white and Ruwallie Rasson blood.”

“Tibby, she would be a good choice for a crewmember, at least in the eyes of the Ruwallie Rasson.  Even though they do not see half-bloods as equals, they do have a certain affinity and affection for them, and generally hire them in their businesses.  Having her on the ship as a free member of the crew would be most acceptable, and would appear normal.  It would be no problem to pass her off as first officer, pilot, and navigator.  Tell me, Endina, how are your combat skills if you needed to use them in a real situation?”

“I am nowhere near the levels of Tibby’s security force, but I have served in combat with the Federation at Hugulsa.”

“Hugulsa!  That where I was shot down and where Reidecor saved me,” Kerabac said, turning toward me.  “Tell me one thing more, Endina.  How cruel can you pretend to be?  If you are my second in command on the freighter, it will at times be necessary for you to be responsible for the male slaves and direct their labors when they load and unload cargo.  Are you able to appear tough and ruthless and, if required, administer shocks and beatings?”

“Yes, sir, I think I can.  I won’t like it, but I will do my part.”

I rose from my chair and walked over to Endina.  “I want you to look as angry as you can and slap me as hard as you can across the face.”  Endina froze for a moment, and then her face snarled and she slapped me so hard I saw stars for a moment.  I had no doubt at all that there was going to be a red mark on my face, and possibly a bruise, as well.

“
Uhh, I think she will do, Kerabac.  I certainly do not need any more convincing.”

Kerabac and everyone at the table were laughing as I rubbed my cheek and took my seat once again.

“Sorry if I hurt you, First Citizen, but you asked me to!” Endina said, placing her hand on my arm.

“No, no, it’s quite
alright.  You did exactly what I asked and your delivery was – um – excellent.”

Turning to Kerabac I said, “One thing we will have to do as soon as we finalize the team is to come up with new names for most of us.  From now until this mission is over we will have to call each other by those names so we become used to them to the point that the names are automatic.  We certainly can’t have any one addressing Kala and me as ‘First Citizen’ on this mission; and ‘Kalana’ and ‘Tibby’ are too well known by now. Likewise, your names and feats have also reached this sector of the galaxy.”

“Alright, what names do you think we should have?”

“For me, I would suggest ‘Tagar.’  I can easily remember that, I think, and for Marranalis, ‘
Ogan’ will do nicely.  Kalana can be ‘Cara.’ We won’t need to bother with Sokaia or Padaran, as I seriously doubt anyone would know of them.”

“I agree, Tibby,” Kerabac replied, “and I think we will also have to change your hair color.  Your red hair is not that common throughout the galaxy, and people readily identify it with you.  I think a dark brown would work better.”

By noon the next day, I had thirteen more applicants all wanting to be crewmembers on the freighter.  This was by far the safest role in the mission, as the freighter had been outfitted with both an RMFF and a cloaking system.  With these systems in place there was little that could be done to harm the ship and its crew; nevertheless, it was not without danger, and we needed the most skilled volunteers for these roles.

It was late in the evening when I received a message from the bridge that we were approaching the rendezvous point with the
MIZBAGONA
and that we had received a message from Captain Felenna confirming their arrival.  The reunion was pleasant.  Captain Felenna had played a crucial role in the defeat of the Brotherhood at Alle Bamma, even though she had once been a member of the Brotherhood herself.  She had seen their darker side and switched her allegiance in order to help end the enslavement of the natives and the production of the drug, God’s Sweat, which the Brotherhood produced there.  I chose to assign Felenna as Captain of the
MIZBAGONA
and left her in charge of a small fleet of ships to protect the planet and prevent the Brotherhood from regaining a hold there.  Although it was later than the normal dining hour, I had the evening meal for our officers withheld until her arrival  so a shuttle bring Felenna to the
NEW ORLEANS
to dine with us and discuss the recent developments.  Commodore Stonbersa, Kala, and I met her in the hangar area.  “Captain Felenna, it’s great to see you again,” I said.

“Honored First Citizens,” she replied, nodding toward Kala and I, “and Commodore, it’s a delight to see you again and to be aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
once more.”

“Always an honor, Captain,” Stonbersa replied.  “Won’t you come this way? We’ve prepared a meal in the Starlight dining area with most of the senior officers.”

“It’s always a pleasure to dine aboard the
NEW ORLEANS
,” Felenna responded.  “While the food on the
MIZBAGONA
is excellent, it doesn’t compare to the exquisite meals here.  So tell me, Tibby, what’s this mission all about and how can I be of assistance?  The message I received was somewhat cryptic.”

“All in good time, Captain.  Right now, let’s proceed to the dining room.  It’s easier to brief everyone at once.”

“Ahh, yes…that’s something I am coming to understand.  I never realized how much work it was to be a captain of a ship, let alone be responsible for a squadron of ships, until you left me in charge at Alle Bamma.”

“Indeed, Captain,” Stonbersa interjected, “I’ve seen the reports you have sent me, and I am most impressed with how well you have been handing matters there.  I understand that you had a few Brotherhood ships attempt to sneak back to the planet after our encounters there, but that you successfully resisted them.”

“It was hardly much of an encounter.  To be honest, I think they were unaware of the events at Alle Bamma and were returning as part of their routine route to pick up more God’s Sweat, only to find us there barring their access to the planet.  There never was any real danger to us or any of our ships.”

We arrived in the dining area just as Felenna finished commenting on her fleet’s patrol of Alle Bamma.  Piesew directed us to our seats, placing me at the head of the table with Commodore Stonbersa to my right and Captain Felenna to my left.  Captain Kerabac was also there, seated next to Commodore Stonbersa, having left the bridge in charge of a first officer while we dined.  Kala sat at the far end of the table opposite me; Marranalis, Cantolla, and A’Lappe were also present. 

“Well, Tibby, we all are here now,” Felenna began.  “I don’t imagine you brought me all this way just to have dinner.  What new adventure have you gotten into and just how can I help?”

“I’m not sure how much information our team has passed on to you, but I’ll start with telling you that a solbidyum shipment intended for the planet
Duepras was intercepted and we believe it was taken outside the Federation territories.  Our intelligence sources tell us it was originally a Brotherhood plan to steal the solbidyum.  They managed to get the coordinates from their infiltrated sources inside the Federation; however, they made the mistake of letting a pirate smuggler named Logden know about their intentions — either accidently or perhaps as part of a plan to use him somehow in their theft operation.  Regardless of the situation, Logden decided to beat them to the solbidyum and took it for himself.  Now we and the Brotherhood are both looking for him.  We have every reason to believe he is holed up on Ryken, Yentum or Goo’Waddle.  The Brotherhood has amassed as many ships and men as they can to patrol the region.  They’re detaining every ship that departs from these planets for a thorough search before being allowed to pass.  The Federation doesn’t want to start a war by going into territory that is not part of the Federation, so the admiral has asked us to go in covertly do what we can to recover the solbidyum.”

“I see,” Felenna said, “and just how do I fit into this plan?”

“I want the
MIZBAGONA
there as a backup warship.  A’Lappe will make some minor modifications to the RMFF and improve the speed of the
MIZBAGONA
and its fighter and patrol ships.  He will also install some upgrades the shielding and cloaking systems of your smaller spacecraft.  Our combined fleets and firepower will make us stronger than anything out here and will nearly eliminate any danger to our crews.