The Solarian Celebration: Book 3 of the Alliance Conflict (34 page)

He repeated three more times on the other tug operators.  Each time he showed Floop’la exactly how to locate and zap the associated memory.

Floop’la lay down on the bed.  As he was receiving the drugs, he asked, “Will I only lose the memories of the object?”

Lopeq’la responded, “The device is very accurate.  You should only lose specific memories of the object.  It is uncommon, but you may lose any associated memories as well.

“Such as?” asked Floop’la

Lopeq’la responded, “Recall our conversation in the primary hold when I first boarded the ship.  You won’t remember talking about the object, but you should be able to recall talking to me about the crewmembers.”

Floop’la: “There sounds like there may be a however with that statement.”

Lopeq’la: “However, it is possible that the two memories are so closely associated that in order to forget the object, you have to forget the entire conversation.”

They played 20 questions and Lopeq’la zapped each response from Froop’la’s memory. 

They switched positions.  Lopeq’la wrote down a series of questions for Froop’la to ask him.  He then administered the drugs to himself.  He asked, “Froop’la, do you remember how to operate the machine?”

Froop’la laughed and said, “Yes. It would have been comical if that particular memory had been zapped from my brain.”

Froop’la activated the device.  He scanned the list of questions.  They made no sense to him.  He clearly recalled getting the memories wiped and knew that these questions were relevant to him a minute ago.  However, now they were just words.

He read the first question, “Remember the object in the main hold.”

Lopeq’la did.  Floop’la found the brain cell and zapped it.

Floop’la: “Remember entering the object?”

Lopeq’la did.  Floop’la found the brain cell and zapped it.

They systematically worked through all of the questions.  Lopeq’la’s list was just a little longer than the others.  As a former intelligence officer and an admiral, there were a few other secrets that he felt that he should forget.

Afterward, Lopeq’la disassembled the medical unit and stored it back on the hover cart.  Finally, he deleted the list of questions from his communication pad. 

He had literally forgotten all about the old woman sleeping in the object.

Eight uneventful hours later the
Vista
exited hyperspace in Opron.  Crista immediately began a cursory scan to look for ships.  Victor watched the main monitor as it rapidly updated.

Victor said, “Well, that’s a relief, there is no one here.”

The
Jackal
exited hyperspace exactly 10 minutes later.  Crista coordinated with Jack and they began a detailed scan of the immediate area.  The
Vista
searched ½ of the quadrant; the
Jackal
scanned the other half.

The mini-freighters scanning capability wasn’t nearly as good as a military vessel, but it was much better than the alternative of no scan.  She also activated the passive scanners and began searching for ships throughout the entire system.

Two hours later both the active and passive scans completed.  Jack forwarded his results to the
Vista
and the Victor combined both scans for a full result and forwarded it back to Jack.  They established a video conference to review the results.

Victor spoke first.  He pointed to a spot on the monitor that was completely devoid of any particles.  He said, “This cannot be happenstance.  It appears that someone fired an antimatter weapon of some sort here.”

Jack said, “There are 2 large or perhaps 4 small expanding dust clouds.  The computer gives them a 70% chance of being debris from an exploded cruiser.”

Crista said, “There are no ships in the system.  It appears the victor made a premature exit.”

Victor mouthed “One time” in response.

Jack expanded a tiny portion of the area and said, “Computer, that object has been flagged as debris.  Can you expand the image and tell us what it was from?”

…88.2% It appears to be the remains of a Hiriculan fighter…

Victor consolidated the observations, well minus one, and sent them and the result of the scans back to Conron.  Finished, they micro-jumped around the Opron system to the Opron – Influenla hyperspace lane.

This time Jack decided to go first since he had experience with the system.  Ten minutes later the
Vista
followed.  Eight hours, or 3 plus days in real time, later they exited hyperspace in Influenla. 

Jack contacted Victor when they arrived and said, “This is odd, there is normally a Hiriculan frigate guarding the entryway.  I completed a scan while I was waiting for you to arrive and it isn’t there.”

Victor replied, “Is it a problem?”

Jack answered, “No, no problem, just strange.  Anyway, I contacted Traffic Control at the station and we have been assigned slips u-8a and u-8b.  Just follow me.”

Jack sent Victor the exact docking coordinates and together they flew directly there. Once again, they were allowed to operate their mini-freighters in manual mode all the way to the station. 

Both mini-freighters docked with their main cargo holds attached to the station.  Jack had an overpowering feeling of deja vu.  The last time he was here he had been trapped on the station for several days.  Then the Alliance attacked, Ella boarded his ship, and they left without clearance or authorization.  Jack hoped the station commander didn’t remember that.

The three Solarians exited their ships.  Jack showed them the moving walkway.  They reached the arch and stepped through.  Jack still didn’t know what it was supposed to detect.  Either way, they made it through without issue.

Jack felt a sudden sense of vertigo as the gravity switched direction on the other side of the arch.  He quickly recovered and led the other two to the electro lift that carried them to the main part of the station.

Unlike Jack’s last visit to the station, he knew exactly where the mercantile was located.  Fortunately, it was only a few paces from the electro lift.  They walked the few steps and entered the mercantile. 

There were monitors on the left side showing cargo items for sale and monitors on the right showing items that were desired.  The corresponding sale price or desired purchase price was listed beside each item.

Jack scanned the board and realized, once again, that it was written in Hiriculan.  He had somehow managed to forget that fact.  Jack took his com pad and scanned the wanted items.  He instructed the computer to translate them to Alliance basic.

Just as Jack had anticipated, the station was still consuming more food than it could grow.  As a result, there were plenty of posted buy requests for fruit and Advranki sea moss.  Jack used his communication pad to rent a warehouse and complete the sale.

Jack looked over at Victor and said, “We need to return to our ships in a few minutes.  The food inspector is coming to clear our cargo through customs.”

Crista looked at him and said, “Can’t we just unlock our holds and have them verify the cargo in our absence?  I would rather walk through the shopping district than watch someone taste fruit.”

Jack really didn’t want to leave his ship unprotected, but he eventually relented.  Besides, there was little need for him to be there.  It was extremely unlikely that they would short him again.  He contacted his ship and created a temporary pass code.  He then sent the code to the food inspector.  Victor did the same. 

Jack had a sudden revelation and said, “Victor, Crista, I just thought of something.  The Hiriculans for the most part don’t speak Alliance basic.  You won’t be able to communicate with them when we reach Hiricula.”

Victor looked apprehensively at Jack and asked, “You learned how to speak Hiriculan?”

Jack laughed and shook his head and said, “No.  I got a facial translator installed in my mouth the last time I was here.”

Crista asked, “What is a facial translator?”

Jack responded, “It automatically translates for you.  Nearly every Hiriculan I have met so far has one.  Follow me, the store is next door.”

They entered the facial translator store and Jack immediately recognized the store owner.  He also recalled that he really didn’t care for him.  For some reason this being’s habit of ending sentences with questions really bothered him. 

The store owner said, “Hello, you are new to the station I presume?”

Victor and Crista both said, “Yes.”

The owner continued, “And you want to talk to Hiriculans I am guessing?”

Victor and Crista both said, “Yes.”

The owner continued, “The facial translator translates words spoken from one being to another.  You stand next to someone and activate the translator by pressing it with your tongue.  It sends a signal to the person you are directly facing.  That person in turns answers their translator with a tongue press and the two of you are linked.”

Crista interrupted with “Linked?”

“Yes, linked,” the owner answered.  “The facial translator will only translate words spoken by linked units.  You wouldn’t want to hear everyone’s speech, would you?”

Crista responded with a less than convincing, “I guess not.”

The owner seemed to have ignored the response.  It was clear that the sales pitch was reaching the denouement.  The owner said, “It can translate three languages – Hiriculan, Alliance basic, and Neto.”

Jack was tiring of the sales pitch.  He interrupted and said, “These two beings will each take one.  I assume the price is still $10,000 Alliance apiece?”

The owner shrugged and lowered his ear stalks.  He responded, “Yes, for the lowest model.  However, you don’t want a cheap one that barely functions do you?”

Crista shook her head no.  She certainly didn’t want the cheapest model.  Victor asked, “How much are the upgraded ones and what do they do?”

The owner replied, “Well, you can link multiple people much easier now.  Plus, the upgraded one lasts 4 times as long and requires almost no care or maintenance.  Also, it can translate Solarian.  It is on special today only for only $20,000 Alliance.  I am positive you want to treat yourselves to the very best, don’t you?”

Crista indicated that she did indeed need the more expensive model.  The owner helped her to a chair in the middle of the store and asked her to open her mouth as wide as possible.  He then inserted what appeared to be a thin wire inside her mouth.  He attached it at the top right of her cheek so that it made contact with her ear.

He then threaded the wire down the inside of her right cheek and stopped at the top of her jawbone.  He applied some quick sealing epoxy to cement it in place and keep it protected.  Victor switched places with Crista and the owner repeated the procedure. 

When he finished, he showed Victor and Crista how to use their tongues to activate the unit.  The three had a quick conversation.  Jack couldn’t believe how much better the newer units worked.  He hated to spend more money on something that already functioned, but the newer unit was significantly better.  Finally, he said “I want to upgrade my unit.”

The owner sat Jack in the chair and swapped his old unit for the newer one.  Jack tested it to ensure that it was working properly.  They paid and left the store.

Victor asked, “Jack, how long does it typically take to test and unload the cargo?”

Jack replied, “Well it depends upon how busy they are, but generally it takes at least two hours per ship.”

Crista summarized, “Then we still have a good three hours before we have to leave.  Let’s continue touring the rest of the shopping district and stop somewhere for lunch.”

Jack nodded affirmatively.  It was actually enjoyable spending time with beings that paid their own bills.  The trio toured the rest of the shopping district.

…………………….

Prued’mo was giddy with excitement.  It was finally time to leave.  She packed her essential belongings in a single bag. She then searched the small apartment to ensure that she hadn’t left anything of importance behind.  She dropped her door keycard on the kitchen counter and left the apartment.

She hurried back to the food inspection headquarters and hid her bag underneath her testing cart just before her two coworkers joined her.  She smiled at them and said, “Let’s go, the two unscheduled Alliance mini-freighters just docked.”

She pushed the cart through the doorway and onto the moving sidewalk.  Fortunately, they were stationed above the archway, so she didn’t have to navigate the gravity change with the cart.  Prued’mo normally didn’t push the cart; she usually let one of her co-workers do it.  She hoped that they wouldn’t notice the change and suspect something was amiss.

They didn’t.  Prued’mo reached intersection u-8, where both mini-freighters were docked, and parked her cart by one of them.  She realized that traffic control had made it much easier for her by placing the mini-freighters side-by-side

Prued’mo said, “Since the ships are so close, let’s do both of them at the same time.”  She pointed to one of the freighters and said, “I am going to push the cart into this hold.  You two obtain samples from the other holds.”

She checked her communication pad and found that the entry codes for both ships had been emailed to her.  She activated both codes and opened both main holds.  Generally, they completely checked and approved one ship before moving on to the next.  Prued’mo hoped that her colleagues didn’t notice the change.

They didn’t.  She pushed the cart deep into the main hold; all the way to the door to the crew area.  Once there she said, “Computer are there any other beings aboard?”

…No. You are alone on this ship…

Prued’mo activated the panel and opened the door.  She quickly tossed her bag inside and closed the door.  She then located a tool that she didn’t need and dropped it on the deck.  She gently slid it under a pallet of sea moss.

She then grabbed a sample of sea moss and inspected it.  She rotated it, sniffed it, and finally put it in the tester.  As the tester was performing the analysis, she started pushing the cart out of the mini-freighter and back toward the station.

She had almost reached the end of the main hold when the tester blinked, indicating that the sample of Advranki sea moss was okay.  She grabbed another handful and repeated the testing procedure.  She pushed the cart to the very edge of the main hold and waited for it to register the results of the test.  It blinked, indicating that the load was okay.

He coworkers approached and handed her samples of sea moss from the second mini-freighter and fruit from both mini-freighters.  She pointed to the hold she had just exited and said, “The sea moss on this one is okay.”

Her coworker asked, “Should I signal the team to begin unloading it.”

Prued’mo panicked for a moment.  Having an unloading crew there would thwart her plans for escape.  She responded, “No, let’s wait to call them until we have the results of all of the holds.” 

She stopped, but quickly added, “It will only take a few more minutes to complete all of the testing.”

She put the next sample of seam moss into the tester and pressed the button to activate the test.  She was feeling very impatient and wanted to take shortcuts to finish.  She knew that she had to sneak aboard the ship before its crew members returned. 

She tried to think of a way to delay the ship’s crew, but nothing came to her mind.  In the end, she would just have to hope that the crew didn’t return before she finished the analysis.