Chapter 10: Togr

The former slaves were received like kings. The Golden and their employees went out of their way to accommodate them. Tables and benches were carried out on the big central yard of the Golden enclave. The Golden handed out food, clothing and what surprised the former slaves more than anything, weapons.

I jumped on a table and said.”You are free beings now. You can walk out that gate and try to find a new home. I will ask the Golden to give all those who leave 100 polos, so you are not without means. Or you can do what I suggested and stay here and apply for Union Asylum. You can do that right here, there are GalNet terminals. Once you accept our laws and complete Union School you are citizens. Whatever the Shiss, whatever you might have done will never be made an issue. The Union accepts anyone, be it Nul, Togar, Shiss, Jooltar or Fruidans. All you have to do is stay lawful.”

A Frudian insectoid hummed in Squack.”Will there a place form Fruidans? We are Galactic Council members.”

“There are over 600 insectoid species, there are former GC members and there are countless individuals of thousand different species who made that choice for themselves. I know of Togar, Oghr, Joolar, Bitlor and I think there are even a few Kermac who are Union citizens. The Frudian society must ask this question as a species, but for you, the answer is yes.”

A Jooltar said.”You are Togar, but you speak like Union.”

One of the Yellow Throats yelled.”She is Union and I bet she’s fleet. I follow her, she saved our lives.”

I jumped off the table and said.”I can’t go with you because I have unfinished business, but what stops you from pursuing a career in our fleet? If you stick with it, one-day Nul, Togar, Humans and many others will follow you.”

I pointed to the open gate. “Our most sacred belief is in freedom of choice and the right for liberty. You are free, decide for yourself.”

I walked to the gate myself, but stopped by the big Yellow Throat, how did you manage to escape the cage?”

“I wedged a broken claw in the snap lock when they put us in, the lock never engaged.”

“That’s pretty smart. Can I ask how you ended up in slavery?”

“Our Gray Throat master sold us so he could buy a ship and flee before the Union troops came to our world.”

--””--

Lumis, the Lord of Light lingered on at Avondur. This planet was called the center of the Universe for a good reason. Many thousand rifts and passageways to other realities, realms and universes could be found on this world and the Avondur star system.

According to cosmic legend, it was here the singularity expanded in a cosmoclyptic event into what entities called the Core or Prime Universe.

A meta spatial condition with all concepts well developed. A condition the ‘Prophecy of Before and Yet to come’ predicted to be the dusk of all the old entities, and the dawn of new entities. It was the metaverse that would see the rise of the Dark One and the restoration of the Rule, with a new base at its core.

There were rifts and metaverse bridges to the anti-verse, to the upper and nether realms. This was the reason for the Orlan to construct their Transspatial gate network, it was centering on this place.

Seven powerful circles, the seven Orders of Avondur lorded and protected and guarded both Avondur and these rifts. Not just limiting access, but also what was seeking entry from the other sides.

In the vast dust and sand planes just outside the gates of the city of Avondur were the chaos rifts, the passageways no one controlled.

In the Shine mountains to the east of Sandakar city was a cave with a nexus gate. Connecting Avondur with all the other Nexus points, the Nexus network was even older than the gates the Orlan constructed. Lumis suspected it to be created by the last Technos of the Old Empire.

Lumis was sitting under the dusty canvas roof that extended from an old stone building that was the center of what locals called the Estresa Compound.

Estresa was the name of an old family of Sandakarians. While the Estresa were not associated with any of the Seven Orders, they supposedly had good connections to all of them. The city and this compound, in particular, was something like neutral ground.

The Estresa also operated this place of rest and hospitality.

The hard packed ground was covered with thick layers of coarse carpet. There were big leather cushions, stuffed with something soft and low metal wire tables.

At the center of each table, an earthen pot with a Fukik luminescence shroom, glowing in a yellowish light. Not to provide illumination but to spread a pleasant scent and to attract local buzz stingers and other flying pests that managed to get past the almost invisible energy curtains. Ever now and then one of the fungi animal hybrid’s sticky tentacles snatched something out of the air that came too close to the light.

There were about twenty of these tables with several cushions placed around them.

In local terms it was forenoon and only a handful of beings had gathered under this canvas roof.

None of them paid any attention to him. Normally there would be a sizeable entourage, but right now he was alone. His trusted man Miracel rotting in the desolate realm of the Highfather. Suffering greatly, he was certain, but he embarrassed the Lord of Light and had become way too critical anyway.

Lumis stared past the tent flaps onto the dusty streets of Sandakar. Beings from far distant galaxies, locals, visitors and refugees of a thousand realms mingled between the buildings, stalls, and tents. Some pursuing their day to day business. Others, just like him with an agenda of higher purpose.

He was certainly not all the beings were mere mortals.

The City of Sandakar just like the planet was an odd mix of the preindustrial and high tech.

He leaned back, sipped from the big mug of cold water and in his mind he heard the words of Crea, the mighty entity and goddess he was serving for so long.

“You are on Avondur. The answer can be found there. Hold the weapon and neither time nor space can hide the Dark One from you.”

The answer to defeating the Dark One was here. But like so many times she was more than cryptic with her answer. The answer might as well be known to the Fukik on the table, but without knowing what to ask or look for, it eluded him.

Then his eyes focused on a truly magnificent feline being. Tall, towering over many. The almost human-shaped body covered in a lustrous golden fur, while the impressive face was surrounded by an impressive mane of long coarse looking fur. The cat wore only a girded loincloth.

Lumis recognized the old god Malmoru. A champion of the light, but not associated with Crea.

He got up and rushed out.”Halt, Malmoru! It is I, Lord Lumis who demands your attention.”

The magnificent Malmoru looked down at the Lord of Light.”Ah yes, Lumis. As self-important and pompous as the day your Crea has lifted you from your mortal existence.”

“I was made the defender of light, you are an aspect of light. Must you not obey Crea and therefore me?”

The entity before him bellowed loud with laughter.”Is she still insisting on that? She tainted light and it has broken the RULE. The One behind it all is not to be betrayed, yet your existence is the embodiment of her betrayal.”

“I am not to be lectured and I have a good mind to teach you a lesson how foolish it is to proclaim judgment over the perfect Goddess.”

Malmoru pointed at Lumis sword. “Draw it then and put substance to your hollow words. The one that will provide the Judgement, to Crea will find his way to this Universe soon.”

Now it was Lumis who sounded amused.”What little knowledge has filtered to whatever realm you were hiding, the Dark One has returned and united seven tokens already. This is why stepped into your way, Crea speaks of a Weapon that can defeat the Dark One, the weapon that done so before. The answer to where I can find this weapon is to be found here.”

The tall entity suddenly sounded very concerned.”The Dark One has arrived?”

“Indeed.”

“I must make haste then!”

Malmoru paid no attention to Lord Lumis anymore, turned and after a few steps dissolved into a glittering shower of sparks.

Lumis at first dumbfounded and then angry was still standing there, as a voice addressing him made him turn.

The man in the golden gleaming armor and green cloak that addressed him, had a human face underneath his horn adorned helmet.”I overheard your conversation Lord Lumis, why don’t you try the realm of the Old Ones? One of them might know what you are looking for.”

--””--

The Togar transport we had chartered from the Merchant house of Lorr held several tons of bacon and tuna in its hold. Two days ago we had left N’Ger and reach our destination, Togr planet in another twenty-seven standard hours.

Cherubim who of course like me still wore her costume and listened to Contessa sat in the same small passenger lounge of this Togar ship and used a little fancy looking silvery file to sharpen the claws of her costume. The way she was sitting and the way she moved made me think she had been in this guise for many times.

I was standing by the oval viewport and stared into deep space. Other than a few distant stars and the occasional quasi streak there was nothing really to see. I just felt this increasing urgency to get to Togr and find Jolaj.

Rog had curled up on a Togar seat and apparently slept. When he was walking and sitting on Union furniture he always appeared to me like a very muscular man wearing a tight fur costume with an impressive lions mask, but now as he was curled up on Togar furniture he truly appeared different and alien.

I remembered Shea showing me visuals of a Terran feline species she called a lion, ever since I could not stop seeing the close resemblance.

The day he came aboard the Tigershark, I was inclined to kill him and every Togar. But he had managed to change my mind forever. He was honorable, a very capable, well educated and trained officer even before he became a Union officer. We all called him Commander and it was not just a nickname but a clear recognition of his former rank.

Of course, there was Jolaj, she was Togar too, but for some reason, she had ceased to be a Togar in my mind the day I held her in my arms and felt her sorrow and pain. She was our Snowball, and I know the entire crew, I included loved her very much.

I was pulled out of my musings by Cherubims now guttural Togress voice.”I really begin to see what the Eternal Warrior and the Highlander see in you.”

I turned from the viewport.”Aren’t you part of that trinity of Immortals? I recall you being there since we went to Richter 4. You briefed us and you received our reports, just as to them.”

She stopped filing her nails and inspected one of the needle-sharp hooks with a critical eye.”Yes, I suppose to you it must look that way, and I do know those two guys for a very long time. But I am not exactly on the Christmas card list of Richard.”

She resumed filing but on a new claw. “I first heard of you at Richter Base and like the other two was deeply impressed by the reports and the truly unprecedented successes you and the Tigershark crew achieved, but I don’t really know more than your names and the content of your files.”

She pointed the silvery file at me.”They say I am an enigma, and I carefully groom this reputation for almost eight thousand years ago. But you are the true enigma and you don’t even try.”

“Eight thousand years?”

“7,793 years to be exact, Erica. Not all the immortals were made immortal the same time. I was born in a city known then as Uruk a city of the Sumer.”

She paused.”You collected so many secrets, there is no living soul knowing my true story of origin. It is a story I haven’t shared with anyone. Neither O’Brock nor Richard knows, but I think Phil has figured out quite a bit of it.”

I shrugged.”Whatever you just said might be a secret, but I frankly have no idea what you’re talking about. I have no idea where Sumer, planet is. And who is Phil?”

She laughed. “Sumer was the name of a civilization that once existed on Earth. You do know Earth right?”

“Yes, I visited Norway. We Norse come from Earth and its where the real Vikings lived.”

“I would argue that the Neo Vikings of Nilfeheim are just as real. I was born long before there were any Vikings, the region became Irak and is now as quiet as it was before there were humans in the Middle East.” She sighed under her very realistic mask.”Phil Decker is another one of us immortals. He is a policeman and detective. Always was and still is.”

I wasn’t too interested in her small talk. I didn’t want to appear rude and feigned interest. Okay, she was older than Stahl, but Sodoby was 12,000 years old. Deepa, Tyron, and Cateria looked a million years or so. Dusty’s age was counted in eons and while I was sure Narth was relatively young, the Narth Supreme was billions of years old and if I understood my spooky twin brother correctly the Dark One existed since the dawn of the first universe. So her revelation didn’t exactly impress me much.

She had resumed her filing.”Anyway getting back to what I wanted to say initially is, that I begin to see what they see, that episode on N’Ger was an eye-opener. You dealing with that Oghr was certainly something.”

“I just hate slavers, period.”

Again she chuckled. “Yes, you sure demonstrated that. And frankly, I am envious of your resources. Who can call the Merchant of Merchants just like that?”

“I am sure the director of TSI and the Assembly News Agency isn’t exactly short of resources.”

Whatever she might wanted to respond was drowned by a strange rumbling growling noise.

Roghor jumped up.”They are sounding the high alarm.”

He wasn’t finished speaking when I sensed a change in the fine vibrations. We had dropped out of Freespace.

--””--

Har-Hi stood next to two Golden, one, of course, was Sodoby and the other Lokta. All three of them looked over the shattered walls, the piles of rubble that once have been the Merchant house compound of Omnar. The Dai nodded with conviction.”Yes, that sure looks like she was here.”

Hans held up the headless body of an Oghr. “I think I found the former proprietor, judging by the gems and gold.”

Lokta spread his arms.”By the misfortunes of cursed bankruptcy, I never have seen anything like it. She goes back to pay Omnar. The Oghr not only raised the price on her, demanded to get paid for the ones that the black Togar cat had killed, but threatens her...” The Golden turned to face the destruction. “ ... well from what I understand, things escalated quickly.”

Five Shiss, two Jooltar and a Fruidan approached them. One of the Shiss, to Har-Hi’s surprise, was not green with a colored throat fold, but shining black from head to clawed toes.

A Yellow Throat, leading the small group said.”We think you are the shipmates of the Black Togress.”

The Black Shiss added.”She’s your commanding officer, is she not?”

Har-Hi asked.”What makes you think we are associates to a Black Togress, just out of curiosity?”

The Yellow Throat pointed at the local Golden.”He is the richest and most elusive of all Merchant lords. He went out of his way to help her and us.”

The Black Shiss pointed at the landed Tigershark behind them.”Then this ship lands, it looks like nothing any of us have ever seen, but it fits her character somehow.”

The Fruidan buzzed.”She wore civilian things, but she spoke in a way only a Union Captain speaks. Utterly confident and with unquestionable authority in her voice.”

Har-Hi threw his hands in the air.”After all this time we should be experts at all this clandestine stuff. Turns out we are still amateurs, a bunch of former Shiss slaves figured us out in no time.”

Again the Yellow Throat said.”She made no difference between Yellow Throat, All Black, Jooltar or Fruidan. She fought for us, treated slaves with the greatest respect.”

“We follow her.” The Black Throat said.

The Yellow Throat agreed with the Fruidan.”We have been told many things about the Union and most of it was propaganda I know, I was in the propaganda and intel field. I know about the diversity of the Union, but now I see the proof. There are Attikan, Y’All, Nul and Togar in her crew. Serving along with Golden, Dai, Humans, and Holdians. We want to be part of that crew.”

Lokta said.”Most of these former slaves did exactly as she recommended. Used GalNet and applied for Immigration. I sent them to the next Outpost with my Golden Sphere, but these insisted to wait.”

Har-Hi sighed.”Guys, I am sure she is going to be thrilled to have you express such sentiment, but that is not her decision. This is a Union ship and you need to become Citizens and then join the fleet. Go through basic training or the Academy.”

One of the Jooltar spoke for the first time.”No one likes Jooltar, especially Togar. She gave us weapons and even Polos. I waited for you, I too was certain she was a Union captain and that there was a ship.” He exposed his fangs and gestured towards the Tigershark. “She left before you arrived, I could not warn her. You are Union and might be able to speak to her.”

Har-Hi instantly alarmed and worried.”What was it you wanted to warn her about?”

“We heard she and her companions chartered a Togar ship from the Lorr. The Lorr have abandoned their independence just recently and are now associated with the Kasij faction.”

Har-Hi urged the Jooltar.”Who are the Kasij?”

“A powerful group of Togar dissidents. The load of luxury food items she wanted to take to Togr is no longer a secret.”

Sobody, always informed on trade said.”These things were always welcome, but Enroe stopped all trade. You may not be able to buy Togar with Polos, but they sell out for bacon and tuna. If they know our captain comes in with a load of that...”

The Jooltar said. “I was an agent for the merchant house of Asrix, until I was betrayed but I know the Lorr. Your captain is in great danger.”

--””--

I wondered what made us drop out of Quasi, we were still a good distance from Togr. Detecting a ship in Quasi and interrupting its translight travel was, at least as far as I knew far beyond the technological capabilities of the Togar or for that matter any Tech Level Seven society.