The Star Cross: The Dark Invaders (22 page)

Lomatz’s eyes
lit up. “Can you show me this island? I would like to visually inspect it
before I agree.”

“It can be
arranged,” replied Governor Spalding. He just worried about what the effect
would be of having twenty thousand of Lomatz’s people on Newton. Many of them,
if not all, having had past dealings with the Profiteers and were no doubt used
to the pirate like culture which prevailed on Kubitz.

“One other
question,” said Kurt, focusing his eyes on Lomatz. “In the contract I signed on
Kubitz you added two small sectors of space to it. Why?”

Lomatz looked
long and hard at Kurt. “Have you sent ships to inspect those two sectors?”

“Yes,” Kurt
answered. “They should be back any time. But I would still like to hear from
you what we’re supposed to find.”

Lomatz
hesitated and then spoke. “I’m not 100 percent certain, but Avery Dolman heard
some rumors on Kubitz. If they’re true, I believe you’ll be very pleased with
what your ships find. I would rather not say anything else until your ships
return. I promise you there is nothing of danger in either of those two small
sectors of space.”

“Very well,
I’ll wait,” replied Kurt. “But as soon as the ships return you and I will be
sitting down to discuss what they found.”

Lomatz nodded.
He had been expecting this.

-

Kurt was back
on board the
Aurelia
with an inspection team from the shipyard. This
time they were going to take a detailed tour, inspecting every area of the
massive warship. Even Andrew had come along since Grantz was on board.

“Damn, this
ship is big,” muttered Andrew as they walked down a wide and brightly lit
corridor. “Is this carpeting on the floor?” Andrew stopped and bent down,
running his hand across it.

“Not like
you’re used to,” replied one of Lomatz’s technicians, who was accompanying the
inspection team. “It’s a metallic fiber that resembles carpeting and is very
resistant to wear, yet feels like an actual floor carpet. This type of material
is quite common on most Protector World ships.”

Grantz grinned
at Andrew. “The Protector Worlds are rich from all their colonies they possess
as well as from the services they provide the Enlightened Worlds. They spare no
expense to make their ships as comfortable as possible.”

Kurt had
already noticed. Walking through the ship, one would never know this was a
warship. In many ways, it resembled a luxury passenger liner. He had already
been shown a large comfortable lounge area with massive windows where one could
look out into space. One of the technicians had pointed out the clear material of
the windows was nearly as strong as ship armor. Plus the windows had blast
shields, which slid down during combat for additional protection.

Kurt was
surprised at how much effort the Lakiams had taken to make the ship as comfortable
and as luxurious as possible. The personal quarters were all unbelievably
comfortable with every modern convenience imaginable. Every workstation had
chairs that conformed to its occupant. Repair robots could do the standard
preventative maintenance on the ship as well as conduct most emergency repairs.

“This ship is
a marvel of construction,” commented Colonel Hayworth as they turned a corner
and came to a large sealed hatch.

“What’s behind
this hatch?” asked Kurt, turning to face one of Lomatz’s engineers. This was
the first hatch they had come to that was locked and protected by a security
code that had to be entered on a touchpad on the wall.

The engineer
hesitated and then answered, “The Lakiams don’t indulge in hand-to-hand combat.
It’s part of their commitment to becoming Enlightened. Instead they use combat
robots. The robots are equipped with heavy-duty stunners so they don’t have to
take a life.”

“What happens
if the stunners don’t work?” asked one of Hayworth’s ship construction
supervisors, who had been asked to come along on the inspection.

“Each combat
robot has a small energy beam cannon in the center of its chest,” the engineer
replied. “It’s quite capable of penetrating any metal unless protected by an
energy shield. The beam can be adjusted to specific intensities, depending on
the type of combat situation the robot finds itself in.”

“How are they
controlled?” asked Kurt, wondering if it was some automatic function controlled
by the ship’s computer?

“The ship’s
commander is the only one with authority to activate the combat robots,”
replied the engineer. “As I said before, they are very seldom used.”

“How many of
them are on the
Aurelia
?” asked Hayworth, peering at the closed hatch
and wondering what the robots looked like.

“Two hundred and
forty,” the engineer replied. “I’ve never seen them in action, and I couldn’t
tell you when the last time was a Lakiam captain deployed any.”

Grantz gazed
at the closed hatch and shook his head. “As far as I’m concerned they can stay
in there.”

“What’s
wrong?” asked Andrew. “Afraid they might take your gold?”

Grantz only
glared at Andrew and then turned away.

“What’s back
the other way?” asked Kurt. He was anxious to get to Engineering and see how
the setup compared to the
Star Cross
.

The engineer
hesitated with an unsure look on his face. “We’re not supposed to go there.”

“Why?” asked
Kurt, growing instantly suspicious. Was there something in one of the
compartments Lomatz didn’t want them to see?

With a droop
of his shoulders, the engineer replied, “It’s the detention area for
prisoners.”

“Detention
area,” Kurt echoed, surprised. “Why shouldn’t we go there? The detention area
is empty.”

“That’s just
it,” replied the engineer, grimacing. “It’s not.”

Kurt thought
the engineer was probably wishing Lomatz were here right now to explain this.
“What to you mean?”

“Two detainees
remain,” the engineer continued, “until Lomatz determines what to do with
them.”

“I want to see
them,” Kurt demanded. He had a strong feeling he knew why the two were being held
and he wanted to see if his suspicions were correct. If he was right, it would
explain why Lomatz hadn’t mentioned this before.

The engineer
seemed to fidget. “Why don’t I summon Lomatz, and he can clarify?”

“Why don’t
you?” Kurt said. “I think your boss has some serious explaining to do.”

-

A short time
later Lomatz arrived, and, from the look on his face, Kurt could tell the
weapons dealer wasn’t pleased about being here.

“Why did you
bring them down here?” Lomatz demanded, glaring at the engineer. “You know this
area is off-limits.”

“They wanted
to see the entire ship, and I was showing them where the combat robots are
stored. I didn’t know they would ask about the detention area.”

“What are you
hiding?” asked Kurt, expecting an answer from Lomatz.

With an exasperated
sigh, Lomatz turned his attention to Kurt. “When my cargo ship found the
Aurelia
,
we found two survivors from its crew. Normally any survivors would be taken
back to Kubitz and held for ransom or sold in the slave markets. I kept these
two in detention because, in this situation, neither of those two alternatives
would work.”

“Why not?”
demanded Kurt, not caring where this conversation was going. He was reminded
once more that, in many ways, Lomatz was a Profiteer.

“Because this
is a Lakiam warship and not a cargo or passenger vessel,” Lomatz replied. “This
has never been done before, and I seriously doubt if the Lakiams would agree to
us keeping their warships. If I were to release these two, and they return to
Lakiam, there’s a good chance—in just a few weeks—a Lakiam fleet would appear
in the Newton System, demanding we return their vessels.”

Kurt wondered
just what Lomatz had gotten them into. From the meeting earlier, everything had
seemed to be worked out, and there were no problems. Now, with the discovery of
Lomatz’s two captives, all of that had changed.

“I want to
speak to them,” Kurt said in a determined voice.

Lomatz looked
as if he would object and then appeared to change his mind. “Follow me.”

They went down
a long corridor and came to another sealed hatch. Lomatz stepped forward and
entered a pass code into the wall-mounted security pad. The large hatch
instantly swung inward without making a sound.

Following
Lomatz inside, Kurt marveled at how spotless everything was. A large desk was
in the center with a single comfortable chair. Some type of security console
was beside the desk, but, other than that, it looked like a normal room. The
walls were a sterile white with bright lights in the ceiling. At the far end of
the room were four metal doors with large windows in them.

“Those are the
retention cells,” said Lomatz, crossing his arms over his chest. “Go speak to
the two Lakiams if you want. All I get from them is silence.”

Kurt, Andrew,
and Colonel Hayworth walked over to the nearer cell and looked in through the
window. A tall Lakiam with bright blue eyes and golden hair sat in a
comfortable chair, watching a viewscreen. The screen had some documentary
playing which Kurt didn’t even try to figure out.

“How do I
speak to him?”

“Depress the
green button next to the cell. It will allow for two-way communication,” said
Lomatz, stepping a little closer. “He won’t say anything.”

Kurt pressed
the indicated button and then took a deep breath. “I’m Fleet Admiral Kurt
Vickers, and I wish to speak to you about your current situation.”

The Lakiam
glanced in Kurt’s direction and then turned back to the viewscreen, ignoring
him.

“That’s all he
does,” commented Lomatz, stepping up next to Kurt and peering in at his
prisoner.

Kurt stepped over
to the other cell, and his eyes widened. This cell contained a Lakiam female,
and she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She was tall,
well-proportioned, and her skin was unblemished with a golden tan. For a moment
Kurt was too stunned to even speak.

“The Lakiams
have advanced to the point where they use gene modification to ensure their
children are born nearly perfect. All the Lakiam women are very similar. A few
have been sold to serve in the pleasure houses on Kubitz, and they bring in a
fortune in gold. Their services are in high demand, and it may take a year’s
advance notice to make an appointment with one.”

Kurt shook his
head. He disapproved of so much on Kubitz. The slave markets and pleasure
houses were only two of them.

“I’d pay the
price,” commented Grantz who was staring at the women through the glass. “I’ve
heard of these women before and they’re proud and haughty.”

Kurt frowned
at Grantz, indicating for him to step back.

Grantz
shrugged his shoulders and went to stand next to Andrew.

“Hello,” Kurt
said, after pressing the green button to allow for two-way communication. “I
wish to speak to you about your current situation and possibly getting you back
home.”

The woman sat,
reading a tablet. Her head turned toward Kurt, and her deep blue eyes seemed to
study him for a moment.

“I don’t mean
you any harm, and I’m not the one who imprisoned you in this cell. You’ve been
brought to my planet, and I wish to speak to you about the black ships.”

“The black
ships!” spat the women in anger, rising to her feet and throwing the small
reading tablet across the room, where it shattered against the wall. “I don’t
know who you are, but when the black ships come here, you and your kind will
die.”

“I don’t
believe in an enemy that can’t be defeated,” answered Kurt, seeing the woman’s
anger. “If you’re willing to talk to the leaders of my world, I can get you out
of this cell.”

“Then what?
Will you sell me at the slave markets on Kubitz? I will not work in one of the
planet’s pleasure houses. I will die before I suffer such humiliation.”

“No, you won’t
be sold,” promised Kurt. “If you agree to speak to my people, you will be
treated with the full decorum you deserve.”

The woman
stepped closer to the door where she could see Kurt better through the window.
“I see the Profiteer standing by your side. Will he agree to what you just
said?”

Kurt turned
toward Lomatz, who had a disgusted look on his face. Lomatz reached forward and
pressed the communications button so the Lakiam woman couldn’t hear him speak.
“Be wary of what she says,” Lomatz cautioned. “The Lakiams have a very arrogant
reputation toward races less developed than their own. She will try to
manipulate you into doing what she desires.”

Kurt nodded.
“I’ll take the risk. Now open the door.”

“It’s your world
you’re putting at risk.” Lomatz quickly entered a security code into the small
screen next to the door, and, with a clicking sound, it swung open.

“I’m Fleet
Admiral Kurt Vickers and welcome to the Newton System.”

The Lakiam
woman stepped from the cell and looked around before her eyes focused on Kurt.

“I’m Mara
Liam, the communications officer of the Lakiam battlecruiser
Aurelia
,
which you have seized illegally. My people will not tolerate you taking one of
our warships.”

“That’s
debatable,” Lomatz said. “Your ship was adrift, powerless, and in a field of
wreckage. Under galactic salvage laws, such a ship can be taken and sold.”

“Back to the
planet it came from,” responded Mara pointedly. “Where are we exactly? I’ve
never heard of the Newton System.”

“Out where
your people will never find us,” Lomatz said smugly.

Mara focused
her attention back on Kurt. “If I tell you about the black ships, will you
release me and let me return home?”

Kurt had the
feeling this woman had another motive behind her question. “We’ll talk about
it. What can you tell me about the black ships or the Destroyers of Worlds?”