115-1117 – Gashuumi – Tlianke/Hinterworlds

2 Eamis 1117: Gashuumi – Tlianke/Hinterworlds (1206 B527769-7 O:1104 923 Na M4 V M9 D)

We got up relatively early this morning and, after packing, headed down to the parking deck. I paused, then remembered.

“Looks like they’ve already picked up the air-raft.”

Saahna was shaking her head. “I was wondering why we came down here.”

“Sorry, too much to keep track of.” I was already punching in a request for an air-cab on my comm.

—-

An hour or so later, we were back at the Arkenstell. How many hotels had we been checked into for the past week? At least our room was still there, and we went through another round of consolidating luggage.

I resolved to never move again once I was on-planet.

I noticed a ping on the room’s comm and answered it. “Yes?”

“Mr. Kodai? This is Jarel at the front desk. We’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Sorry, we… headed down to a resort for a while and just left the room to keep some things. Sorry if that was a problem.”

“Oh, no, sir. Absolutely not. We understand our Traveller guests sometimes keep… unusual schedules. It’s just that an X-Boat communication packet came in for you while you were away, and as we were your residence of record while in-system, it was delivered to us. We need to deliver it to you.”

I frowned. Now what? “Oh, thanks! Just transfer it up.”

“The packet is encrypted with your personal code. We need to confirm your identity before transferring it to you.”

I frowned at that. Yeah, that was standard procedure, but who here…

“I’ll be right down!” I clicked off and turned to Saahna. “I need to run down to the lobby for a few minutes.”

She was shaking her head. “Getting a comm from some port-girl of yours?”

“Seriously?” I said with a sigh. “How many of your port-flings did you give our itinerary to?”

“Yeah, OK. But who knows your code and where we would be?”

“I have an idea, and you’ll be the first to know if I’m right.” I quickly left and headed for the lobby.

—-

There, the human at the desk was looking at me with slight concern. “I hope you were not disappointed in our accommodations, Captain Kodai. It has been some time since you were here.”

I waved in dismissal. “Actually, quite the opposite. Someone I have spent a lot of time Travelling with decided we should get contracted, and we took some time off to celebrate. Nothing to do with your accommodations here.” Though, to be fair, they were barely above average among places I had stayed.

He seemed to relax at that. “Thanks. The management here is concerned about how our Traveller guests are treated. Especially those flagged as Preferred Partners.”

“Thanks.” I held up my Ident. “So, you need…?”

“Oh, yes. Certainly!” He tapped something on a console in front of him. There were a pair of pings from my comm.

“There you go! Good thing you got the message here; this is the end-of-line point for this packet. If you hadn’t picked it up here, it would have waited until you came back into Tlianke space again.”

“Yeah, I run a Free Trader. I know how communications work.”

He flushed slightly. “Oh! Sorry. I was just trying…”

I waved him off. “Don’t worry, it’s OK. Thanks for getting it to us.”

He nodded. “Sure! Of course! Anytime!”

—-

I paused long enough to verify the origin of the packet, then headed back upstairs. Saahna was still looking dubious as I arrived. “So… something important?”

“Yeah, quite probably.” I pulled out my remote and tossed it onto the bunk, then activated the scrambler program. I then told my comp to decrypt the packet and flicked it to the remote as well.

A holo of “Radish” appeared over the bunk. It was looking somewhere between Saahna and me but started speaking instantly.

“I feel obligated to thank you, Captain Kodai. You have uncovered not one but two pieces of information about groups operating within my sphere of influence that I should have been aware of. I have admonished my agents appropriately. I am waving the other half of your contracted payment to compensate you for providing the starting point for my research.

“I have acquired what information I can about the groups you were interested in. I am sending what I have now as, by my calculations, you should be close to the final system in the itinerary you left with me by the time you receive this. Please send me your ongoing travel plans, and I will continue to update you. Again, I seem to be in your debt.”

“That aside, I have some of the information that you requested me to look into. First, what is designated as the Spoilsport Project.

“The ‘Spoilsports’ are groups of Imperial Military assets–Naval, Marine, and Army–who have been placed into long-term cryosleep around the periphery of the Imperium. In the case of a ‘disrupting event,’ they would be awakened and sent in to protect Imperial assets in situations where the Imperium itself was forced to withdraw for any reason. They activated soon after your Emperor Lucan removed the Imperial Fleets from the Old Expanses. Punitive Empress Margaret’s subsequent removal of the Reserve Fleets did not affect this decision as the Spoilsport fleets were already being awakened.

“I have only been able to determine the location of a single Spoilsport base within the Hinterworlds, a darkspace point between Adar and Kaggits. The Imperial presence there seems to have begun working with the Tlianke Alliance, as most of its assets seem to have been moved into their sphere of influence, vacating the area now controlled by the new ‘Hinterworlds Alliance.’ My assets tell me that you are quite familiar with that Polity. As again, by my timing, you are within Tlianke space as you receive this, I suggest you be careful.

“The other information I have for you is on what you called the ‘Embers’ project. This appears to have been a legitimate project co-sponsored by your Imperial Naval and Scout Services. However, the project was officially shut down about 10 years ago as the Moot did not consider it worth funding. It appears that a number of Imperial Megacorps were lobbying the Moot to disregard any suggestions of future instability.

“It also seems that some portion of the Imperial Navy continued the project on their own as a ‘Black’ project. Based on credit transfers, they appear to have had assets on Venad and Boilingbrook in the Hinterworlds and on Atil in the Old Expanses. They also have contact with multiple ‘independence’ factions within the Hinterworlds.

“You and your ship have, apparently, been identified as an essential asset to this group. Several of those independence factions have been alerted to be on the lookout for you. This means that many system governments and multi-system polities are aware of you and your connection to that project. I advise you to be careful, Captain.

“Please update me with your ongoing itinerary, and I will continue to provide you with what information I learn. This intel is also of much interest to my superiors, so I will continue to provide this without payment in exchange for your continued assistance. Thank you.”

The holo clicked off. I grimaced and looked over at Saahna.

She was looking at me in confusion. “Who the hells was that? How do you know a Hiver?”

I sighed. “Back at Gimisapun, I was looking for an Information Broker to try to find out what we had gotten involved with. That’s how I met Kona. She offered to give me the contact in exchange for helping her. I told them what I knew at the time and asked about the ‘Spoilsports’ and the ‘Embers.’ They said they would send me what they found. Which they just did.”

She shook her head again. “Yeah, great. And how much did you pay? Because they didn’t tell us anything that we hadn’t already figured out on our own.”

“The fact that the Spoilsports’ are gathering in Tlianke space?”

“So?”

“Do they know that Tlianke also is working with the Sols?”

“Well, I’m sure they…” She trailed off.

“Yeah, they think they have an ally in the coreward parts of the Hinterworlds, but their ‘ally’ is working with both sides and is more-than-likely ready and willing to betray one to the other once they see how things are going. And we now know that. And we can probably use it to our advantage.”

“How?”

“The next time we run into one of the Spoilsports, we reveal what we know about Tlianke and the Solomani! We have enough evidence. Maybe, just maybe, that will get them to leave us alone?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Maybe. I remember…” She paused. “Yeah, that will probably work.”

“Yeah, it should. Until we get out of their area anyway.”

“Sounds good.” She paused again. “We have the crew meeting in a couple of hours.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“So, how much of this do we let them know?”

“None of it?” I shrugged. “It has nothing to do with ship’s operations. Hells, what could I tell them anyway? I might mention that we’re doing an in-air pickup tomorrow, but I’m not sure if they even need to know that tonight. I’ll just say it was a last-minute change of plans. That way, we won’t have to worry about someone saying something.”

“You’re going to lie to your own crew?”

“Not really, but… OK, I’ll let everyone know about the pickup. Unless Varan drags his current system girl with him.”

“Oh? Oh yeah. I had forgotten about her.”

“She was a bit too interested in us.”

“You really need to talk to Varan once we’re out-system.”

“Yeah, I do.”

She looked around. “So… the meetup is in a couple of hours. What now?”

I glanced toward the bunk. “We could… you know….”

She rolled her eyes. “Now that we’re back at the Starport, maybe we could do some final shopping before we hit Jumpspace again?”

I made a show of groaning, then nodded. “Yeah, sure. Let’s go.”

—-

We hit several stores where Saahna seemed determined to replace most of my wardrobe. I typically wore my ship’s jumpsuit or jacket while on-planet, but she was determined that I needed to have more “casual/professional” clothes.

“You need something that indicates that you are a Traveller other than just a jumpsuit!” she was saying as I tried on yet another tunic.

“Why?” I asked as I struggled with the buckles. “Look, we’re a Free Trader! Everyone I deal with knows I’m with a Free Trader! Why the hells am I trying to impress them?”

She rolled her eyes. “As good as you are at dealing with people, you really don’t understand how to present yourself. Trust me; you need to look a bit more professional.”

“I’m a Captain of a Free Trader!”

“Yeah, and you dress the same way a deckhand on a Sub-Merchant would dress! Maybe… try to be a bit more aware of what the locals are wearing?”

“Hey! When did you become the expert at trade?”

“I was in Recon. There were any number of times where I had to go down to a planet to find out local info. Locals are more likely to talk to you and give you intel if you look like them. Or look like whatever is currently in fashion in the greater Galactic community. Maybe, just maybe, update your wardrobe a bit?”

“Yeah? And what happens at the next system?”

“You toss the old clothes in the cycler and get a new set once we land. It isn’t that difficult.”

“But… buying clothes every Jump?”

“Hey, I thought you were the trade expert! We’ll make it up! And, it will help build a closer connection to the worlds you’ve decided that we’re here to help. Remember?”

I groaned. “OK, fine. But I’ll depend on you for what passes as fashion.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you there.”

—-

An hour or so later, we were at Vandiver’s. I told the sophont at the door who we were and that we were expecting others, then found a booth in the back. We settled in long enough to grab some drinks and tama leaves.

Do’rex and Shelly were the first to show up, and they both slid in on my side of the booth. “It is good to see both of you are well,” said Do’rex as he settled next to me.

“Yeah, what the hells is going on?” asked Shelly. “We’ve had Security visit us a couple of times now?”

“The Stetons, remember them? Local Security blamed them for the attack on us and arrested them. But, they have escaped and TliSec somehow thinks that we were involved.”

“Why would we help the people who tried to kill us?”

“I don’t think they were behind the attack. I think it was aimed at them, not us. Even TliSec seems to think we were just ‘collateral damage,” but since I had told them that I thought they were innocent they are questioning us.”

“It does seem unlikely that they would target the ship they were travelling on,” said Do’rex.

“Targeted by who?” Varan had just arrived, along with Evel. “What have we done this time?”

“Nothing,” I said with a bit more annoyance than I should have shown. I turned to his companion. “Good to see you again, Ms. Kane, but I’m sure Varan has told you that this is our pre-lift meeting.”

“Yeah?” He dropped into the seat next to Saahna and gestured for Evel to sit next to him. “I thought we weren’t keeping secrets anymore.”

“From each other, yeah. From other people? No. I don’t want to give all of my Trade contacts away, after all.” I turned back to Evel. “Nothing personal.”

She smiled tightly at me. “No offense taken, Captain. But surely, if you aren’t doing anything illegal, you can’t object to having other people at your meeting. You don’t have to mention your trade partners at all.”

Nothing weird about that statement at all, I thought. I smiled. “Of course not, Ms. Kane. It’s just that…”

“Heya, everyone!” exclaimed Jami as she arrived, her arm around Volm, who looked somewhat uncomfortable. “Hope we aren’t late!”

I looked from Volm to Saahna, who had closed her eyes and was shaking her head, then looked back. “Nope. Just about to get started.”

She and Volm sat down. I looked to Saahna again, shrugged, then turned back to the rest of the table.

“Well, let’s get started then. I can tell that several of you have plans.”

I tossed my remote onto the table, flicked the subsector holo to it, then zoomed in on Mupikaa.

“We’re off to Mupikaa. They’re independent and support themselves through mining. Another place we can’t breathe by the way. In their case, it’s way too much salt in the air. Their oceans are slowly drying up, so a lot of mineral sediment is being exposed and distributed through the atmosphere. What there is of it. We’re hauling in what they need, so we should be able to make some good deals there.”

“Better than here?” Varan said with unveiled annoyance. “I saw our payout this past month. Or the lack of it. I thought you were good at this?”

I took a deep breath. “We had exceptional expenses this month; repairs to the ship and medical for Shelly and me. Do you have a problem with that?”

“Not really, but it would be nice if you spread around some of those Credits you had available for you and your girlfriend.”

“Hey!” What the hells? Was he trying to start something?

“I’m not his ‘girlfriend’!” Shelly had jumped to her feet. “He never did anything to me or tried to take advantage of me! Unlike someone I could name!”

“Oh, rut you!” Varan said. “You knew what you were doing.”

“Shut the rut up, Varan!” I said, staring straight at him. “You do not treat the crew that way!”

“So you’re our Captain now?” He was staring straight at me, expression blank. “I thought we were friends.”

“We are!” I said tightly. “But… we talked about this.”

“Yeah, because I fucked her and you didn’t. But… go ahead. Tell us what disaster you’ve gotten us involved in this Jump.”

What. The. Hells? I was furious. I had never had Varan confront me like this before. I glanced around. Jami was suddenly talking to Volm, but Shelly was visibly shaking.

“Rut… rut you!” She got out, finally. She turned to me. “And rut you too!” She ran from the table.

Do’rex clicked. “It appears that Ms. Tharis is quite upset. Would you like for me…”

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “Go take care of her. On-board at 1000, lift at 1200 tomorrow. OK?”

He clicked in response. “Certainly.” He quickly got up and followed Shelly.

I turned back to Varan, who now had a smirk on his face. “What the hells was that all about!”

“You don’t own us!” he said, anger in his voice. “I want to know what kinds of deals you’ve been making here. The deals that affect us. I’m tired of you keeping things from me!”

I smiled tightly. “I’m not keeping anything from the crew!”

“And anyone else?”

“I see no reason to share our ship’s business with anyone outside the crew.”

“So, tell me? What weird things have you gotten us involved in this week.”

“Nothing!” I said without hesitation. “We’re jumping to Mupikaa with six passengers and a full load of cargo and freight. What more is there to know?”

“Six? That’s a bit light, isn’t it?”

“I was holding slots for a couple of passengers who canceled.”

“Who? The Stetons?”

“No. Not the Stetons.” That statement was true, at least.

“Oh? So you don’t mind if we just leave now? Since you have nothing else to tell us?”

What the hells had gotten into Varan? “No, that’s it. On-board at 1000 and lift at1200. I don’t think there’s anything else you need to know.”

“Fine!” He stood up and extended his hand to Evel. “Come on, it’s my last night in-system.” He turned to me. “See you tomorrow, Captain. For your sake, I hope you aren’t lying to me.”

“What the hells does that mean?”

“See you tomorrow. Captain.” He emphasized the last word a bit too much.

He and Evel left, her looking at me with a smug smile as they did. I watched as they went to the main bar.

“Um… Is something going on?” asked Jami.

“Varan has… taken a few things personally that he shouldn’t have. It will work out.”

She was looking around the now-near-empty table. “So… are we done?”

“I… guess? We’ll go over the other details in the post-Jump meeting tomorrow.”

“Great!” She turned to Volm. “It’s my last night too! Let’s go!” They quickly got up and left.

I turned to Saahna. “Well… that went well.”

“I warned you that Varan was upset.”

“Yeah, and you weren’t kidding.” I looked over at the bar. The two of them were in close conversation, and Evel kept looking in our direction. “I’m pretty sure she’s TliSec.”

“Varan never had the best judgment when you weren’t with him.”

“Apparently.” Evel noticed me looking in their direction and said something to Varan. He quickly paid their tab and left, leaving two barely-touched drinks behind. I sighed.

“I hope it was worth it for him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can deal with him being angry with me. I can’t deal with him working against me.”

“What do you think he’s up to?”

“Evel is trying to find out, through him, what we have to do with the Stetons. And he’s apparently doing everything he can to please her while burning as many bridges as he can with us.”

She paused. “He’s your friend.”

“Yeah. I know.”

“What are you going to do?”

I was suddenly back in the kitchen with my father. He was looking at me.

“What I have to do,” I replied.