Shackleton's Folly (The Lost Wonder Book 1) (21 page)

He zoomed the screen tightly on Electra’s face to stop the video as she giggled and smiled to someone off screen.

The shop’s door was kicked inward and hung from its hinges. He walked to the back of the shop. The merchandise and the shelving were piled up in a heap as it was searched. The floor was littered with broken pieces of pottery and glass. Larger items were just left on their shelves and the whole thing shoved across the floor to crash into the wall. There wasn’t a thing standing in the same place in the storefront as it was earlier in the morning.

The proprietor, O, stood behind the counter with two Koty shock troopers pointing their weapons at her. She was crying, her shop and inventory smashed and destroyed.

Gray looked about the shop, “O, where is it? Or would you like them to ask you again?” Gray pointed to the troopers. “They do not like to ask twice — believe me.”

O stammered, “There is little I can say. I never had what you asked for, and Shackleton is long gone.”

Gray crossed the room to the counter. He sneered, “Too bad.”

O straightened up. Wolfgang watched the process that took only a fraction of a second. O’s body became jelly-like as she fell through her escape grate on the floor, no longer a solid.

The troops were too stunned to do anything. Gray leapt up on the counter; he pulled a blaster from his hip and fired down the grate after O.

He said with disgust to the troopers, “Come on. She’s gone.”

The first leg of the journey took the
Quest
into space on the edge of the galactic habitable zone. Radiation from the supermassive black hole at the galactic center made going much closer a suicide mission.

The
Quest
blurred back into normal space almost on top of a large ore-processing freighter. The monstrous craft had giant apertures capable of consuming great chunks of rock and processing it for profitable minerals. The
Quest
held a course that would bring her alongside the great space leviathan named the
Last Straw
.

Dancer was working on a pencil drawing of Alec in a heroic pose, with Electra standing nearby, scantily clad. He liked the imagery of the old Edgar Rice Burroughs
Barsoom
series. Dancer had drawn Alec in a loincloth and harness, his arm outstretched above him, with staff in hand. Electra wore next to nothing, in the manner of Burroughs’ warrior princess Dejah Thoris. In Dancer’s sketch, Alec and Electra were standing over the heaped pile of oarsmen he had competed against at Nowhere Downs — the victor and his mate standing over the vanquished. Dancer worked hard to do the scene justice. He would paint it in acrylic later.

The sensors alerted him again to the freighter’s proximity. Dancer scanned them a fourth time. It seemed that the ship’s crew wasn’t going to take space static as their response. The hailing alert blared again.

Dancer shook his head. He clicked communications, and the screen came alive. “This is First Officer Dancer of the Starship
Quest
. With whom do I have the pleasure of communicating?”

The display filled up with a partially lit face. It was hard to discern just what the communication screen was focused on.

“Captain W’shiquan of the
Last Straw
. Inbound. You trading?”

Dancer replied quickly, “Why, Captain, of course we do.”

Captain W’shiquan moved about. He confessed, “Not have much to trade.”

Dancer replied, “I’m sure we’ll do business.” The display went dark. Dancer flipped an intercom switch and spoke. “Alec, an ore transport from the Frontier. A trading opportunity knocks. Maybe intelligence or…”

Alec’s voice came from the intercom, “Star Charts!”

*

The cargo deck was the largest space available. Alec and Dancer opened all the boxes and pulled an assortment of goods out, creating a quick display of all the items available. Dancer worked hard with Alec to get everything ready. They used every possible surface to display merchandise that would catch the eye of those aboard the
Last Straw
. It wasn’t going to be easy to figure out what would interest this unfamiliar species.

It wasn’t hard for Dancer to note that his partner was in a much different head space than he had been in recently. Compared even to as recent a time as yesterday, his persona had lightened up. Alec finished displaying the merchandise when he glanced over at Dancer. Dancer just shook his head. He had scanned his partner and found under his shirt a few scratches and a bite mark on his upper chest.

“What?” queried Alec.

“Mister Sunshine — aren’t we all bright and shiny?” said Dancer.

“Oh, shut up,” said Alec. He found it hard not to smile broadly.

“Well, at least we now know she isn’t a carnivorous plant life form,” replied Dancer.

“God no, not plant life.” Alec smiled thoughtfully, “Wow…”

The airlock hissed as it pumped atmosphere into the lock. The larger cargo door raised to reveal large, thick-skinned quadrupeds. They stood among the trading-goods samples littering every surface.

Alec said, “I am Captain Alec Shackleton. A pleasure to have you join us, Captain.”

“Captain W’shiquan. This be Vaali, my first officer.”

Captain W’shiquan and first officer Vaali moved amongst the goods. There were boxes of many kinds of goods, including a box of Hawaiian shirts, baggy Bermuda shorts, and skimpy bikinis.

Captain W’shiquan said, “Complete transaction fastly.”

Alec assured him, “Not a problem at all. You’re the customer.”

Vaali became excited. He picked up a box of women’s lingerie. He took out a black see-through nightie and held it up; then he put it on top of his head. Electra entered the cargo deck with a cup of coffee in hand. She took a sip as the aroma crossed the room, capturing Alec’s attention. Electra smiled, walked over to him, handed him her cup, and winked. She kissed him softly on the cheek. Vaali’s headgear caught Electra by surprise. She gave Alec a questioning look, with an arched eyebrow.

Alec went over to Vaali. “Not exactly how I’d have it filled.”

Vaali asked, “What used for?”

Alec said, “My species has two sexes. Male and female are needed to reproduce. This garment is worn by the female to attract a male.”

Vaali threw it over his shoulder. It floated high in the air and landed draped over Electra like a black see-through veil.

Alec said, “Much better. I approve.” His bright eyes and smile lit up.

Captain W’shiquan spoke up. “Like some you have. What we trade?”

Electra pulled the nightie from her head, a hint of a smile curling the outermost edge of her pursed lips as she glared at Alec. He responded with a shrug of his shoulders.

Alec stammered, “Oh, yes — information.”

Captain W’shiquan replied, “We not stupid. Have mining claim.”

Alec put his arm over the Captain’s shoulder. Alec said reassuringly, “Save it, Captain. You’ve been around. I want to hear what you know about the Frontier.”

Captain W’shiquan looked at Vaali and then at the trading goods. He said, “Knowledge worth what?”

Alec responded, “I guess you’ll just have to give us a sample, and we’ll see if we want to deal.”

*

The
Quest
pulled away from the large ore-processing freighter
Last Straw
and left it behind as it changed headings. The wall monitor was filled with the face of Captain W’shiquan. Alec, Electra, and Dancer put away the sample merchandise. Captain W’shiquan said starkly from the screen, “Business done. Gone home.”

The monitor went blank. Alec said, “Electra, if you saw anything you would like or need from the trade goods, feel free to take what you need.”

Electra beamed back, “Oh, I have.”

Alec said, “I was thinking of anything you find among the trade goods.”

“Got it,” she said.

Dancer picked up the data crystal and placed it in a receptacle on his body. It glowed faintly as the 1.2 Exabyte optical data crystal was accessed.

Dancer stood as he pondered the problem. “I am accessing the data. One thing I can say about the Captain — he loved his star charts.”

Alec was happy. “Start cross referencing it with the charts we have.”

*

The
Quest
had returned to the relative safety of FTL and put distance in the opposite direction from the freighter. It would be just a short jump, and then they would return to their original course toward the Frontier. If the
Last Straw
were stopped by anyone, they would point them in the wrong direction.

Alec sat in his pilot’s chair. A holographic representation of the part of the galaxy they were in floated above the control panel. The artifact he had purchased from Dolk rested on the control panel in front of him. Alec reached out and turned the floating 3D map by grasping an imaginary tab at the bottom of the representation. He then picked up the artifact and looked at it closely. He ran his fingers across the surface, trying to get information from it.

Alec returned to the 3D map, zoomed in on their position in space, and reviewed the course segments going to the coordinates O had sold him. They were now only a segment away from their destination. “Dancer, do you think we’ll be alright with adding only two jumps after the trade deal with the
Last Straw
?”

Dancer looked up from his sketch pad. “We should be fine.”

Electra came in from the galley with two coffee mugs. She handed one to Alec and looked at the galactic map.

Alec asked, “Have you heard of the Eleven Wonders of the First Ones’ Empire?” He held up the artifact.

“Wonders’?” said Electra.

Dancer joined the conversation, “She wouldn’t know them the way we do. Her people have been out of touch with the rest of the galaxy since before the fall of the Empire. They became Wonders only thousands of cycles after the fall, when no one living could figure out how it was done on such a scale.”

Electra sat at the engineering station.

Alec thought about it. “A hobby of mine — finding the lost Eleven Wonders of the Universe, all part of the First Ones’ Empire.” He put his hand down on the artifact. He said thoughtfully, “It’s a reference issue. She would need a point of reference to make the connection. There was only one galactic empire about 8,000 standard cycles ago. Electra, from what you said, your people were moved to your new world by the Empire.”

“Yes, I understand the Empire,” said Electra.

“We refer to it as the First Ones’ Empire because they were the first and only ones so far to control much of the galaxy. Now whether this was a good thing or bad is debatable. A centralized government, a legal system, trade, and a formal method of resolving disputes between planets and star systems held up for a long time. I mean, there was peace in the galaxy for a long time.”

Alec continued thoughtfully, “Then corruption and greed set in, rulers appeared, and the decay set in until what was left fractured into smaller kingdoms ruled by governors of the old Empire, despots, or generals. It’s so far removed in time from where we are today that it’s hard to see that it ever existed.” Alec sipped on his coffee.

“How did the Empire expand?” asked Electra.

“Excellent question.” He was overdoing it a bit. “Now that depends on which race you talk to. Some say it was done by war and conquest; others say ‘treaties of mutual need.’ Hard to tell now when so much time has passed. History is written by the winners, and, with the fall of the Empire, many smaller groups wanted to make the Empire a villain.” He looked at the galaxy hologram again. “Much of what was left behind in this part of the galaxy has been lost to time or scavengers. Do you have technology from the Empire?” asked Alec.

“Yes — few, if any, know of our existence,” said Electra thoughtfully. “I know that, if we get back to my people, you will have any technology we have that you need at your disposal.”

“That’s interesting. There might be some references that could help me find at least one of the Wonders. It’s on my bucket list.” He immediately realized she would not understand the reference. “It is a list of things you want to do before you die.”

Electra was taken back. “You prepare for death like this? Are you dying?”

He laughed. “It is a life goal. A list of things crazy or adventurous you want to do before you die.”

She looked at him incredulously. “Alec, I have been with you only a short while, and I cannot imagine what you would need a bucket list for.”

Alec put down the artifact and picked up his datapad. He pulled up his bucket list and reviewed it. “You are correct. My list tends to be more mundane items.” He put down the datapad and took up the artifact again.

A silence came over them, and it was Electra who broke it. “When you take me home, my people could help you find these Lost Wonders.”

Alec felt something and turned to Electra. She had a look on her face he could not understand. He would put his life on the line for her, but he had responsibilities to the survivors. He reached out and took her hand in his. “Your safety means everything to me, and I will move planets and stars to help you in any way I can. If you know your way home, then let’s set course right now.” Alec did not get a response. “If not, then I will continue following the trail of inscription pieces which I believe will provide us a map back to your home world.”

Electra felt a wave of doubt wash over her. She knew the return of the pieces of the inscription he had was her primary mission, but she couldn’t tell him that. Electra had sworn an oath of secrecy. It was part of her mission briefing how big a piece of the material they were looking for. They had never dreamt it had been cut into smaller pieces. They currently had only one of the inscription pieces, and, from what Electra had seen of the two Alec had before Wolfgang Gray and the Koty had stolen one, there was a third piece, just as Alec had said. She would, of course, have to retrieve the one stolen by Gray. Electra could not return home with only one piece of the three. Her heart was heavy keeping this information from Alec. He had been more than generous to her, and, now that they had crossed that line and become more intimate than she had done with any other lover, she feared what would happen to them when it came out.