Chapter 11

Donheer Syndicate Complex

Duke Donheer stood by the window and looked outside over the ocean towards the mainland.

The Duke was humanoid but he had no terran human DNA. He was part Shiss, part Kermac and even had some Saresii in him. He did not have any Psionic abilities but inherited the natural arrogance of his Kermac heritage.

He was big as he liked eating and eating a lot of the best things, but he surprised many with his agility and strength. It was important to him that his scalp appeared polished and he bleached his fine scaled skin to a light shade to show that he was related to the White Throat caste.

Duke Donheer was the unopposed ruler of his empire and one fourth of all business on Sin 4 went through his organization, but he wanted more.

Unlike his father and the Donheers before him who were content with being part of the cartel and having one fourth, Duke wanted it all. He knew there were bigger powers out there and only if Sin 4 was under one ruling hand, his hand would become the true power controlling this world. He dreamt about colonizing the south Continent and putting a new spaceport on the larger moon. He remembered the Stik and wanted to get rid of them completely.

The other three families had to be eliminated and then he could take over business at Temple island. Instead of getting a share of the Sojonit whore business, he wanted it all. The contract and agreement his forefathers made with the Sojonits was just a piece of paper, once he was undisputed king of Sin 4 contracts and agreements became null and void and all that mattered was his will and word alone.

The Donheers already made more profit than the other families. One of the reasons for it was his crown jewel, the Fight Coliseum, he had pushed it to new heights and a source of great profit.

Union GalNet sports channels transmitted the weekly fights all over Union space and the income from that and the advertisement brought in more money than any of his other businesses.

He thought about the Loki torpedoes in his basement, these terrible weapons of Union origin could be used to blow up the fortress islands of the other families and sell the rest along with the P Bombs to the Kermac who already signaled great interest. If he played his cards right he would leave his son a real empire.

The Kermac, Nul and the Union already considered the Shiss no longer a real part of the Big Four, but he knew better, because he was a personal friend of the First Nestling and managed to capture an important Nul for his lizard friends. The Nul was scheduled o die in the Arena. After the Nul died a hopefully gruesome death fighting, the Duke had plans to accuse the Union of selling him the captured the Nul.

Hearing about the seriousness the Nul considered this matter it was most likely start a war. That the Union win this conflict, there was no doubt. But at an enormous cost in life and resources. The Shiss mortal enemies to the Nul no longer wasting time and efforts on the Nul, once more strong and able to mop up the pieces. then he would announce Sin 4 to be under Shiss control and the first Nestling promised him dominion over the entire quadrant.

The other families then had no choice but bow to him. Before his inner eye he saw himself already ordering the execution of the other family patriarchs and taking over their treasures and possessions. No longer just lord over a fourth, but having it all.

He smiled at his own reflection in the window and walked back to his desk for the business at hand. His sources reported that an Agent of the Nul Empire had arrived. Dimon Honshu the assassin and privateer had been hired by the Nul to find the Gray Nul. The half Dai had a great reputation in terms of being connected and having access to many groups.

He was more than friendly with that grumpy primitive, Ludor Baro. He even let the half dai land on his enclave. It was through cartel channels a meeting was arranged.

Donheer was certain Honshu had no idea that the Duke knew about the meeting that took place at Brhama Port.

The half Dai was on his way to meet the Duke, no doubt to make an offer to obtain the captured Nul.

One of his aides and bodyguards announced the Assassin and let him in. Dimon appeared to hav indeed Dai heritage that he saw at once, that explained his great reputation as Assassin.

Right away the Duke wondered how this Dimon would do in the arena against a real Dai. A great fight for sure.

Honsu bowed and said.” I am thankful for your time. I am Dimon Honsu.”

Duke waved impatiently. “I know who you are, the large gift of Polo coins was well received and the reason I agreed to meet you. Anyone spending a Million Polos for an audience with me has my attention. No one spends this kind of money without a motive, you want something from me.”

“You are as keen and straightforward as they say you are.”

“If only half is true you heard about me, you also know that I am not a fool and a busy man, so come to the point.”

“I am certain you know who I am and what I do to spend my time. I was hired by a client to find an abducted Nul, some believe has been brought to Sin 4. Now I heard you bought the Nul and plan to fight him in the Arena tonight. Would it be possible to see those fight slaves before the fight and perhaps purchase one if the one I am looking for, is among them?”

“No that would be quite impossible, I already advertise the fight but if you fight tonight in the arena, before the main event against a full Dai, I let you pick any serving fighter including the Nul you are interested in.”

“I can’t agree to that, but I ask you to reconsider. I am willing to make a substantial offer.”

“And you do not have a choice.I like fights more than money.

Either you agree to my deal or you won’t be very welcome on Sin 4 anymore. I doubt even you would make it alive from this world with a Cartel price on your head.I doubt your Simian friend Ludor Baro will protect you.”

Dimon became angry.”You do not realize who you are dealing with.”

“Oh I know. You were hired by the Nul to find that Gray Nul. I believe you don’t know who you are dealing with. This is Sin 4 and my will is supreme. This conversation ends now. Now be a good assassin and strip all your hidden weapons or I have my guys take you apart.”

Dimon felt like an amateur walking into a trap.

“Since you know I was hired by the Nul then it will come to no surprise to you, that they are informed about my whereabouts and expect my reports regular intervals. Not even you want to become an open enemy to the Nul Empire. Abducting Nul and have them fight in your arena will just do that.”

“Exactly, this is exactly what I want, angry Nul. I told you the terms of my deal. You can walk out and try to leave Sin 4 alive or you fight in the Arena and complete your mission the Nul have paid you for.”

Damon swore to himself he would make this man pay. He had other resources but one thing was true. If he won in the Arena he could pick the Nul prince and complete his mission. He had killed many times before and fighting a Dai was dangerous but nothing he could not handle.

“Alright I agree to your deal. I fight in the Arena tonight and I hold you to your end of the bargain. I win and leave with the Nul of my choice.”

“I always keep my word when it comes to the Arena, always. Now my associates will provide you with a nice apartment where you can prepare for your fight tonight.”

Donheer watched as his bodyguards escorted the man out. He then leaned back, things were looking up. He had the Nul agent under control, and a nice fight before the main event. Now all he needed is to find a Dai warrior.

The undefeated Champion and perhaps greatest star of the arena, the incredible Terror Hammer had returned and he promoted that everywhere. He would have the Champion fight the Nul tonight and throw in a Stomper and an Insectosaurus he had bought from a Lifeform Smuggler.

They came from the famous Union world Green Hell and were as vicious and deadly as any monster he had ever seen.

He called Wintsun. While this Sunflorian was not family, he knew how to get things done and Donheer trusted him more than most. The man appeared as always making no noises as he moved. The green skinned man used to be a Union Officer and they trained their personnel well. The man knew no scruples and killed and bullied his way up the ladder and now was in charge of Intelligence and he got results.

“Wintsun, I need a Dai Warrior tonight for the arena.”

“There aren’t any in the slave pens. I heard there might be one for sale at Alvor’s, I am sure I can get him here but even the fastest ship won’t make it for tonight.” Wintsun was thinking. “I think that new pirate has one in her crew. It must be a renegade or outcast.”

“What new pirate?”

“The Silver Streak and Captain Velvet I told you about. She leveled the DE towers of the Gorotolah Spaceport Protection Agency.”

“Ah yes I remember you telling me about her. She is sort of an enigma, named after a pirate that was active some 400 years ago, right?”

“Not much is known about her, but she is on the top ten wanted list in the Union, the Goldens claim she raided several ships of theirs and her old ship is modified and carries modern Nul weaponry. Stuff you can’t really buy, like Nul-Froth Casters and six pods with Nul-Nul Gravitation Torpedo tubes. All this and a military grad FTL projector probably Kermac, also not very easy to get.”

“That ship would be a nice prize. Now about that Dai?”

“I was informed that she purchased scrap from Gothar, you know that little dirty bird dealing with Skaakh and Stiks on Trash island. She paid wit Polo’s and bought a few tons of scrap and I think she bought it for a Dai clan. They always need resources like that.”

Wintsun checked something on his PDD. “One of our guys has seen the Dai with a Golden earlier today near the Coliseum.”

“Get him for me.”

“For that I need that P 4 Paralysator you got. Going against a fully armed Dai and capture him alive is otherwise not possible.”

“Take what you need.”

Circuit stood by the huge pile of scrap Gothar had just delivered and said: “What in the world would you want with that?”

I shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I did only what the Merchant told me.”

The merchant heard us talk about him and came over. “It was actually good business. Do you know how many million of tons of scrap and secondhand materials are bought and sold every day and then shipped all over the galaxy?”

Again I had to confess ignorance and said “No not really.”

He pointed at the open boxes. “These Arti Coils contain valuable materials and are very expensive when new. There are companies in Freespace, and I know of several on Union side as well who do nothing but recycle or rebuilt them and sell them for much less than new ones.

We can easily make 6,000 Creds profit on those alone, right here on the Pirate Market. If we bring those things to my Bazaar, I guarantee a profit of 12 to 14,000 Creds.”

Narth pointed to the cases with the alien spheres and said. “Not to mention a treasure that can hardly be evaluated in Credits.”

Sobody rubbed his bald head. “I would not go that far. I am sure we can get a billion credits for those easy. It looks like most of the Data spheres are broken but some are intact and there is nothing more valuable than rare artefacts from long gone civilizations.Ithomarian relics are in high demand.”

Narth bowed slightly and I knew he was smiling behind his hood.

“To some the collected knowledge of a long gone civilization might be beyond monetary values but I am still learning and now thanks to you I can actually revise my estimate of priceless with a more accurate figure.”

Sobody looked at Narth and his eyes sparked. “We might not be around as long as you Narth, but we Goldens have travelled across this Universe much further than even you, who hardly ever left the Upward Sector as far as I know. We built our society on the fact that almost any species we ever encountered has need for some sort of money and almost all spacefaring societies understand the value and benefits of trade. Trade is a wonderful tool of understanding and making profit is one of the few universally common concepts.”

Narth bowed again. “I yield to this quite correct statement, my Golden Friend.”

TheOther stood quietly to the side and I asked him.

“I do not know you well enough yet but I think something is bothering you. I am your Captain but my offer that my door is open also includes you.”

He said with a sad tone in his voice. “It is the Stik. I almost killed him and caused him serious pain and harm and that right after I told you that I abhor unnecessary violence. I hope the Lord forgives me.”

I put my hand on his side as I could not reach his shoulders and said. “It was an accident and not done on purpose. I believe it is the suit that augments your already incredible strength to truly astronomic levels. I think we should ask Circuit if he can’t adjust that a little down with the help of a Computronic routine.

He straightened out and sounded less depressed. “This is true. I didn’t do it on purpose and the suit is magnifying my strength, thank God.”

I was curious and asked. “What religion do Y’All have?”

He answered saying. “Y’All battle drones do not have any religion or even the concept of faith.”

He now lowered his voice again. “I told you that I changed and questioned our ways. I didn’t do that out of the blue but because of something that happened while we were destroying a human colony. It truly affected me. A man stepped fearless and unarmed before me and just held out a little symbol and held a book. I’ll never forget his words. He informed me I was trashing a House of God and that it was a sanctuary for peace. Even though we were not allowed to communicate, we still understood human languages.

I am deeply ashamed that I killed that man. Why I kept his book could not say. With the help of our Computronics I translated it and begun to read it.”

He pulled a silver chain from inside his uniform and on it a little cross and he continued: “It suddenly made sense to me, the teachings of that great master changed my life and made me realize I too have a soul and would be held accountable for what I did.”

I was quite floored by that. I knew of the ancient Christian faith he was talking about and it was one of the reasons my ancestors left Earth so they could freely worship Odin and the Aesir. I knew many especially human Union Captains had a copy of the Bible on their shelves where I had a copy of the Edda.

To learn that a member of the fiercest and most brutal enemy the Galaxy ever faced had become a believer in that faith was quite touching and made me think even more differently about the Y’All and him in particular.

I said to him. “I suggest you get together with Circuit now and see what can be done about your battle suit.”

He said. “Aye Captain,” and stomped away.

Sobody was talking to his Holdian friend and as he saw me he hastily came over and said:

“Captain with all that Trash Island business I almost forgot to tell you that Hans and I followed a lead Mehedi send us and we found a weapons dealer in the Uppers controlled by the Donheer Clan. There are two dealers claiming to have access to Union Mil Tech and one of them assures me he can get his hands on a stockpile of Loki Torpedoes and even a P Bomb.”

This was serious Union Hardware and a P Bomb in the wrong hands could mean the end of a Planet. While the technology of these weapons was not as tightly guarded as the secret of the Translocator it was still highly classified and Kermac, Shiss and Nul would be eager to get their hands on these.

I said to Sobody. “Do you know where they keep them or when they plan to sell these items?”

Sobody shook his head and said. “Sorry, Captain I don’t, but since we are talking about a deal that could reach a billion Polos, I am sure the Duke himself is tightly involved and it would only be him who knows where they are kept.”

“Is there a way we can find out?”

“Hans was received like a king and they have scheduled a Championship match to celebrate the return of the Terror Hammer. This is one of the occasions for which the patriarch himself will leave his island fortress to attend the spectacle in person. It might be the best chance to catch and interrogate him and find out where the weapons are. We would surely blow our cover if we have to attack his compound openly. These Cartel islands are well defended and shielded. Of course I have also signaled Golden interest in the weapons. I made our interest known in the right circles.”

I digested the information and then nodded. “Alright, do you think you can get some sort of plan of that Coliseum without putting yourself in too much danger?”

Har-Hi said. “I can go along and make sure he is safe. No worries. Dai Than are not uncommon on Sin 4 as we are pirates too and occasionally do business here. Maybe Narth can keep a psionic eye on us.”

Narth nodded too and said. “I could also keep my actual eyes on you by coming along. My abilities might prove useful and it would further satisfy my curiosity to see Sin 4 and participate in a clandestine operation.”

I didn’t object. Har-Hi was as experienced as one could be, Sobody seemed to know the ins and outs and I doubted there was anyone on Sin 4 who could stop a Narth. So I agreed to their plan and said. “Just be careful to make sure they do not recognize you as a Narth.”

Narth managed to sound excited. “I shall obscure my nature by utilizing a costume.”

I watched them leave and went to my own quarters to put on the Sojonit Costume and go with Shea to the Temple to visit the Mother Superior. I was looking forward to seeing her again as I had grown to like the old Saresii woman.

Shea was already in our quaters and wore her old Sojonit outfit, but had not yet put on the wig or the mask. As I opened the package she had brought back from her visit to the temple and it revealed a black outfit. She said with big eyes.

“I wonder why she sent you the outfit for an Avenging Angel? That is a very secretive special group within our order. This one even has a mask registered to the name of Nightshade.”

I didn’t want to lie to Shea but I was under strict orders to keep the details of this for myself so I said. “I am sure she had a reason and maybe she will tell us why.”

She nodded and accepted my answer, but she was way too intelligent and I felt she suspected I knew more.

I asked her. “How do you know it is a genuine mask?”

She said. “Put on your mask and if you focus your eyes just above the eye slits you can see two little eye blink switches. Look at the left one and blink twice.”

I did and Computronic information was displayed right before my eyes. I could scroll through the menu by simply moving my eyes and as I looked at her I could read. “Genuine Sojonit Sister, registered mask name: Wetmouth. Status: retired.”

She said:” You can even activate the weapons and the shield that way. Those masks are way more than just disguises.”

“Weapons too?”

“Yes, the basic equipment are Neuro Ripper, Micro Needler and Lip Poison. I am sure the ones for the Avenging Angels have even more options.And I know you know much more about that, but I also think you can’t say more. It is a secret group after all.”

The Pink Mercedes came and picked us up. After an eventless flight we reached the Temple Island and were brought right to the Private Offices of the Mother Superior. She greeted us and said. “Sister Wetmouth already told me the happy news and I wholeheartedly agree and wish you the best of times together.”

After we thanked her she said to Wetmouth. “Please go to the temple stores and get your new retired outfit. You will like it as it has a closed mouth like mine.”

Wetmouth bowed and left. Despite her mask I knew she was not completely happy to be sent away. After Shea was gone, Mother Superior said. “You can tell her everything in due time, but right now it is not a good thing. Emotions and secrets do not go together.”

I had to agree to this basic wisdom, but I wondered and asked her. “Shea is in control of her emotions and she is way more than a friend. I am going to marry her and share the rest of my life with her.”

She took off her mask and looked at me with a soft smile but sad eyes and shook her head.

“No my dear, you won’t. If everything goes well she will spend her life with you, but she will fade away and you will go on. I am certain now you are one of us, one of those where age and time means little. However you are young and what I say now will fade in the background until many years have passed. I hope you both will be truly happy as you deserve it.”

She said it with a tone of certainty in her voice that made me believe her, so I said. “A woman named Cherubim said the same thing. What has changed from when we met last time? What made you certain?”

“Listen into yourself and you will know it too, we all do and we recognize each other.”

I knew she was right, even though the idea, the very concept of immortality, was incomprehensible. Why would a Neo Viking of no special purpose become immortal? I had not met a guardian. I did not find a rainbow palace nor had I psionic powers to slow down my cell decay. Heck I was barely adult and yet I somehow knew beyond all doubt that she was right. She smiled a very soft motherly smile. “Yes you met quite a few guardians, my Soja. You met the Narth Supreme, of whom I know is one of that elusive group of cosmic entities called guardians or perhaps even Elders of the Universe.

Both of us know you did speak to the goddess. While I am not sure how much she has revealed to you or how much you are able to remember, but she too is an entity of great aage and power. My lovely Soja you have a long path ahead if you manage to stay alive that is.”

I sighed deeply as it was a heavy load of questions that pestered me and there were no answers in sight. “Yes I somehow know it is true and I am sure you know more than you let on.”

She put her hand on my cheek and said. “Yes Eric, I know more. We immortals all have a task; some sort of purpose the Universe needs. Some of us know the task right away and others will only become aware of it after thousands of years. I don’t know your task Eric, your true purpose, and I don’t want to influence your decisions with theories and opinions of my own.”

“You are already influencing me and I don’t mind it. I feel you have good intentions.I know you are a positive influence.”

She nodded. “I do, Eric. I have good intentions and I really like you very much, but immortals are not always friends. They can be the terrible enemies and I hope one day when you know who you really are, you will see me as a friend and not an enemy.”

I stared at her in disbelief. “I might be one of you immortals, but I will not become something else. I am Eric of Nilfeheim and I will never turn my back on my friends. I trust my feelings. I do think you have your own agenda, something that goes beyond all this but I know you are a friend.”

“Are you really the same Eric Olafson that left Nilfeheim? You live day in day out as a female now and the world perceives you that way. You are not a young cadet but a Starship captain. Yes very young but do you think Stahl and McElligott would have given command over such an important mission to a child? No Eric you are changing and developing, and who knows what comes out at the end.”

Again she removed all the patina and revealed the truth to me. I could not even use my first name anymore and yet as she said it I knew the female part of me was only a phase as well, it would not be the end of my transformation. Maybe I really was slowly turning into a Narth, but deep down I knew I would never be a Narth.”