OMEGA Guardian (3 page)

I replied, "This is not a very friendly sector, is it."

Go shook his head. "As my mom always said, ‘When the AMP died, Omega lost its soul.’"

We moved the ship to one of the busier shipping lanes and scanned for other ships that belonged to the Governor of SS241. Each ship we encountered was carrying stolen goods. The Governor’s theft ring was one of the largest I had ever encountered. And nothing was being done to hide it. It seemed the slavers were content with allowing him to raid some of the wealthier citizens in the Omega sector, as long as he stayed out of their business. With the amount of contraband we had seen on the first day, I imagined the Governor was already a very wealthy man.

When we set down on the deck in Bay-68, I placed a comm call through to Ogu on SS5.

Ogu answered. "Hello, my friend. How is life in the Omega sector? Are you settled in yet?"

I replied, "This place is a mess. No one follows the rules, and the government officials all seem to be corrupt. My new captain just keeps his head down in the paperwork to keep himself out of trouble."

Ogu laughed. "Paperwork?"

I nodded. "Yes, paperwork. Literally. There are no computers in the office, no terminals, no networks. I don’t even have an arm pad or a blaster. I suspect, if I would like either of those, I will have to get them myself."

Ogu raised an eyebrow. "I can get you arm pads. A blaster is much harder to come by."

I continued, "This sector is overrun with slavers as well. They control the Governor of SS241, and I would imagine it’s the same with the other colonies out here. The Governor is a thief as well and is robbing the people blind. His deal with the slavers is to turn a blind eye to them if they allow him his vice."

Ogu replied, "Let me send you an arm pad or two. And I will look into finding you a blaster. That is insane for you to go aboard ships without protection."

I nodded. "That would be appreciated. Just make sure you include an invoice for the cost. You have your own family to feed."

Ogu laughed. "Don’t worry about me. The business has been picking up. I have almost doubled last year’s income, and we are only seven months into the fiscal year. It seems a little revolution is good for the salvage business."

After closing the comm, I stood, hunching over, and exited the
Mabel
. Go was working on her exterior.

I said, "Why don’t you take the rest of the day off. I think we accomplished more than I expected today. I'm going to go down to check out my new quarters on level 99."

Go stood. "What? Why would you go down there? It's not safe!"

I half smiled. "I need to get some sleep, and that bunk on the ship is too short."

Go looked into the hatch and then turned back. "I think there is room to extend it behind my seat. Give me an hour, and I might have something worked up for you."

I smiled. "Take some time off. Go out and get rested or refreshed. The bunk project will still be there tomorrow."

Go shook his head. "Go out? Are you crazy? If I leave this ship unattended for fifteen minutes, Roger will have her stripped bare! I’ll just hang around here, if that’s OK with you."

I gave a single nod as I turned toward the bay door. To my surprise, Malcom was standing in my way.

Malcom spoke. "I heard you did a random inspection earlier. Captain said he signed it and stuck it on his stack. He said he was impressed with it. Are you trying to make the rest of us look bad? What's your agenda out here? Captain said you were trouble."

"My agenda, if I have one, is not your concern. I would suggest you go out and do your job right if you are seeking the Captain’s praise. It isn’t all that difficult to perform an inspection. Or, were you never taught how?"

Malcom scowled. "Listen, Beutcher, I’ve worked a long time at getting this job to be what I want. If you start screwing that up, well, let’s just say I hope you don’t end up like the guy you replaced. He butted heads with one too many people."

I leaned in close to Malcom and whispered, "There is one thing you should know about Gruntas, Mr. Barber. We don’t get scared. And while I may seem laid back and easygoing, I can become quite savage when threatened. You would do well to keep those things in mind."

As I stood up straight, Malcom offered a half scowl and turned away. He was a petty, one-dimensional man who only understood threats and violence. From his reaction, I knew Malcom wasn’t sure how to handle intimidation when he was on the receiving end. I smiled as I proceeded towards level 99 and my new quarters.

The trek down the stairs from level 68 to level 99 was an easy walk. I dreaded the climb back up, as the elevators in SS241 didn’t go below level 54. The stairwell was unkempt, and a funky smell wafted upward the farther I went down. When I reached level 99 and turned out into the hallway, I could see what Go and the others were talking about.

Half of the lights in the main corridor were out. As I walked towards my hallway, I passed several groups of Magonia youth who were obviously stoned out of their heads on bleurgh. I stopped two young kids who were assaulting a third and sent them on their way. When I reached hall F, the stench of urine led my eyes to the stain on the near wall. Trash lined the floors.

When I reached room 17, the door was cracked. I pushed it open only to find two stoned Feldons passed out on the floor. Feldons were another species that was common to the Omega sector. They were small in stature, like the Igari, only covered in a thick fur. Their smell was abhorrent.

The tiny furnished apartment was in ruin, and a foul odor emanated from the restroom to my left. I reached down and grabbed each of the Feldons by the scruffs of their necks and dragged them into the hallway, dumping them on the far wall.

After closing the door, I turned to survey the full damage. The small kitchenette was a wreck with the refrigerator and stove missing. Garbage was strewn about, no doubt discarded with no thought given to its proper disposal. When I moved over to look into the restroom, it was in an equally disastrous condition.

Water constantly dripped in the shower where the valve would not fully close. The toilet was stopped up and, from the looks of it, had been in that condition for quite some time. The sink had no doubt been used as a urinal. I returned to the living room and began a search on the integrated comm device for a cleanup service.

After selecting one such advertised service, a Magonia appeared on the screen. "Welcome to Mag Maids! How may I help you?"

I replied, "I just moved into a new apartment, and it seems some squatters were in here and trashed the place. I’m looking for a complete cleanup and sterilization, with odor elimination if possible."

The Magonia smiled. "That’s unfortunate, but I think we can handle that for you. Can you give me the location? It’s not coming up on my screen."

I replied, "Level 99, hall F, room 17."

The Magonia looked up with a half snarl. "We don’t go below level 71. You will have to find someone else. And I will be frank with you: you will not find a registered business who will send anyone down to that level, honey. You are either going to have to do it yourself or pay a mercenary to do it. Hahahaha!"

The comm channel closed.

As I looked around at the debris that was scattered about, a thought occurred to me. Back on SS5, every housing level had a maintenance staff with the equipment needed to keep things running. I pulled up a diagram on the comm device and located the maintenance room on hall H, room 33. It was a good central location for the housing units on level 99.

I stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind me. It would not lock. I proceeded over to hall H and then down to room 33. The door was locked. I banged on it with my fist.

A voice came from the other side. "Go away!"

I replied, "Are you the maintenance super?"

The voice laughed along with several others. "And what if I am? Unless you are dying, you’ve got no business bothering me. Go away!"

I replied, "What if I was to say that there were some credits out here waiting for you? I have a job that needs doing that I am willing to pay for."

The voice was silent for several seconds before the door swung open. "Look, pal, I’m not—"

The Feldon looked up in panic and attempted to slam his door shut. My boot prevented that from happening.

The Feldon was emboldened as four of his friends jumped to their feet behind him.

He smiled. "Look, no doubt you are a big fella, but there are five of us."

Two of the Feldons brandished knives.

I smiled as I balled up my fist and held it out in front of me. "I would say this is just about the same size as your head, is it not? What would be the result if a fist this size struck a head of about equal size?"

The two Feldons with their knives stepped forward.

I pointed towards my forearm. "You see this thick skin? It’s very tough. I’m going to give you a break today because I don’t think you are familiar with Gruntas. Let’s just say that you don’t bring a knife to a fight with a Grunta. It is not an effective weapon."

One of the younger Feldons replied, "What would you suggest?"

The supervisor turned toward him with a look of disbelief at the ridiculousness of his question.

I unballed my fist. "Let’s begin again. I am a new tenant on hall F. I need some maintenance taken care of in my apartment. And, I am willing to pay. Now, being new to this station and this level, I would find it helpful to have a group of people that I could consider friends and not enemies. I don’t work well with enemies. They irritate me.

"And, if you were wondering, friendship with a security officer can have its benefits as well."

The supervisor’s expression turned to one of curiosity from one of anger. "What kind of benefits?"

I looked down the hall in either direction. "What if I was to work with you at getting this level cleaned up?"

The Feldon replied, "And just how would you do that? Half of these people are strung out on bleurgh, and the other half are robbing them. Level 99 is not where they send the good people, you know. Most here have been locked up at one time or another. Order is not something that happens around here."

I looked around the maintenance apartment that was fairly clean. "You seem to be managing."

Two Feldons walked past me in the hallway. The super’s expression turned to one of concern.

The super waved me in. "Come in, I don’t like having my door open. If any of those goons out there know you have anything, they won’t hesitate to break in at the first opportunity. My name is Cal Hoog. These are my brothers Gar and Fow, and my cousins Pex and Polo."

The door was closed behind me. Cal gestured toward a small couch for me to sit. I did, which left three of the Feldons standing.

Cal said, "You got stuffed into 17, huh. I guess you will be needing your appliances back."

I replied, "Is this level so bad that appliances are stolen?"

Cal laughed. "No, when an apartment goes empty, I take them out so they don’t get trashed. It’s hard enough to keep the few legitimate people we have here going when we can’t get parts. You don’t look like you would destroy them, so we'll move them back in as soon as you have the place ready."

I looked around the apartment. "About that, ready, where could I hire a cleanup crew?"

Cal again laughed. "Pffft. Cleanup crew? Down here? Good luck with that."

The other Feldons laughed.

I leaned forward. "Look, I was serious when I said I was in need of friends. I think you are too. I bet you spend all your time in this apartment, scared to leave for fear of it being raided while you are out. Am I right?"

Cal crossed his arms. "We aren’t scared…but yeah, it would be nice to leave without that worry. What do you have in mind?"

I smiled. "What we need is a plan. When you have a task as big and complex as this, you need a solid plan, a plan where you have contingencies worked out for when things go wrong, and they will go wrong.

"I would start by getting a listing of all the residents on this floor. We find out who is supposed to be here, and who isn’t. Second, we find out who is bringing in all the bleurgh. Cut off the bleurgh, and the users will go elsewhere if they still want it. Then we clean this place up. You would have to requisition enough paint and cleaners for the job. If you need some muscle in getting that, let me know. I can be persuasive.

"When the halls are cleared and clean, we then start with the tenants. Some will come with us voluntarily; with the strength of numbers, we can bring along the rest. We clean and paint and revitalize every apartment on this level. Those are just my spur-of-the-moment thoughts. How does that sound?"

Cal replied, "I can get a list of tenants. You would have to go around with us expelling anyone who shouldn’t be here. There are five of us, but groups of unhappy people can form quickly around here. If you are truly interested in cleaning up level 99, I think we would all agree to help."

Cal looked around to see the nods from his family. The next few hours were spent on an initial plan. I proposed that we let it stew for a few days, as I was certain there would be changes we would make when new thoughts came to our minds. The Feldons seemed excited by the prospect of a clean, organized, and orderly living space. Level 99 had been the station’s dumping ground for derelicts since the collapse of the AMP.

The fall of the prior alliance was like a fork in the road for SS241. The previous station Governor had kept a well-ordered station, with emphasis on it being a place where those who worked for the government would have a place where they could safely raise their families. Now, most families had moved away, and the station was nothing more than a palace for the Governor and a slum for everyone else. I would work to change that.

In the coming days I continued to gather evidence against the Governor. Four more captains had joined my cause as informants. The evidence, and those who would be willing to validate it, was stacking up.

I turned the corner to see the
Mabel
parked in it's normal spot in Bay-68. Go was busy tuning the circuits on one of his add-on contraptions. I was returning from the portal gates, having picked up a package from Ogu, sent from SS5. As I came into the bay, Garrett Rourke was standing by the
Mabel
.

I said as I approached, "You are a bit far from home."

Garrett looked around. "I talked to your Captain. He’s a piece of work. This your ship?"

I nodded. "The
Mabel
. She’s ancient, and lacks many of the conveniences of the Daunte, but she gets the job done. So long as I stay out of the way of the slave trade out here, I don’t have anything to fear in her. I have a good maintainer as well. What are you doing out here? Were my contacts able to help you in any way?"

Garrett smiled. "They have been a tremendous help. I was all set to return to Adicus to search for Miss Salton. Your friends dissuaded me. As it turns out, the Adicans have been conducting a purge of almost all Humans. Unless they have a specific need for you to be there, they were asking you to leave. Had I gone in without credentials, I would have been arrested and then turned over to the security forces on SS6. The Saltons’ security crew would have been waiting for me."

I replied, "I’m glad to see that you are well, but what are you doing all the way out here in Omega?"

Garrett reached out, taking my forearm in his hand. "I need your help, Mr. Beutcher. I need to establish an identity that will allow me to move about the New Alliance freely."

I gestured toward a pair of chairs that sat beside a table covered with old ship parts. "Have a seat and we’ll talk."

I pulled a chair up under me. "How were you able to travel here? Your ship would have taken three months without the portals to sweep you along."

Garrett replied, "I used the credentials of a dead Human from the Adicus revolt. The security people had yet to process his arm pad. I managed to use it to make the portal jumps on foot. The
Jess
is parked in a safe location back in Alpha. I have a large credit store at my disposal. I frequently used it while in the employ of the Saltons. It was my way of making transactions that I didn’t want them nosing into. I have enough to buy a decent personal cruiser or maybe even a small freighter. I need something to help establish a name and identity."

I shook my head. "Out here, all you need is bribe money. It’s an everyone-for-themselves place, where all the upper offices are corrupt. The Governor on this station is trafficking in stolen goods while several of the colonies are run by slavers. If there were ever a sector to have a long missing-persons list, Omega would be that sector.

"The record keeping out here is well beyond what you would imagine as being bad. The security service does everything on paper, when they do it at all. I have to imagine that things out here continue to run because of what was here before, but they are also in a state of continuous slow decay. If we can get you a ship, I can get you introductions to work with the Governor. I have almost 20 percent of the captains who do his hauling now under my... investigative discretion."

Garrett replied, "You certainly don’t waste time, do you."

I smiled. "I can only effect my release from this place if I have champions here who will back me. The Saltons have little influence in Omega because they have largely abandoned it. The colonies are poor by Alpha standards, and there are far fewer of them. It doesn’t appear to be rich in minerals either, much of those having been mined during the earlier AMP years. It truly is a place where you can be put and then forgotten about."

Garrett said, "So, is there a place where I can safely crash? Are there rooms for rent?"

I replied, "I am certain there are indeed rooms to rent. Safety, however, is another matter. Until you get settled, if you would like, the bunk on the
Mabel
is available. It is currently too small for me. I have an assigned apartment, but it is not ready for occupation."

Garrett furrowed his brow. "Where do you sleep in the meantime?"

I laughed. "I don’t. I get rest where I can. It's not ideal for a Grunta to stay awake for long periods, but it's not impossible to do, either."

Garrett looked at the box in my hands. "What’s in the package?"

I set the steel container down and entered the cipher code, the latch flipped open. "It's from Ogu. I have three arm pads and a separate package."

My eyes grew big as I smiled. "Oh, and a package of coffee!"

Garrett laughed. "I didn’t think Gruntas got that emotional. So, coffee is the trigger, huh?"