Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals (38 page)

“Tibby, we are not failing; and you have accomplished a great deal here, whether you realize it or not.  If it weren’t for you, who knows what would have happened to Tanden and Jenira.  And Padaran didn’t learn his martial skills on his own, you know; you played just as large a part in Tondor’s defeat as Padaran, even if you didn’t fight him yourself.  As for what Padaran is doing and accomplishing as
Dormon
, that is yet to be seen; but he’s bright young man who has a better understanding of Ruwallie Rasson customs and history than anyone here.  He’s the perfect one to be doing what he is.  You’re just frustrated that, for the first time since you’ve come to the Federation, you aren’t in the forefront leading the action.  I suppose it would make me feel helpless too, coming from your perspective up to this point.”

“You may be right, but I still don’t like it.  We’re playing it by ear, and making spur-of-the-moment decisions every step of the way.  We have no real plan, other than hopefully stumbling across Logden and the solbidyum and somehow getting out of here alive.  We have no idea when or, for that matter, even how Agama will contact us again; how we will make contact with the
RASSON BEDAN
; where we will meet up with them; or what we will face when we try to get off this planet.  All in all, I feel like the mission is crumbling about our feet and that we’ll be lucky to make it off this planet with our lives.”

Kala smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek.  “Tibby, look around you.  I would say things are getting better, not worse.  Yesterday we had the Brotherhood getting ready to come back and kill us.  We were living in a bugged and busted up house under intense scrutiny from several sources.  Now we’re in a secure place where the Brotherhood can’t pursue us; we don’t have to pretend to be slaves anymore; Padaran has gotten the Ruwallie Rasson to release their slaves; Tanden and his sister are free and together; and we have a solid lead on Logden and the solbidyum.  Just as you planned in the beginning,
they
are all coming to
us
.  Lift yourself out of this doom and gloom!  Things are going pretty well, I would say.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I sighed.  “I just don’t feel right, sitting and waiting for things to happen — I’m used to
making
things happen.”

Kala and I sat and talked for some time.  She shared with me some of the daily details that she, Endina and Sokaia experienced at the other estate house while the rest of us were away or restricted to the slave quarters.  She explained how difficult it had been for them to maintain their roles to keep anyone listening in with the bugging device from suspecting anything out of the ordinary.  It all sounded rather strange because, in light of all the events that had taken place so far,
nothing
had been ordinary in any way.  She was just getting around to sharing some of the more humorous skits they had to put on, when Marranalis came out of the house and called to me. 

“Tibby, the Ruwallie Rasson leaders are starting to arrive for the meeting with Padaran.  Kerabac thinks now would be a good time for us to get into the compartment behind the walls to start watching and listening.”

“Kala, I would like if you could come with us.  Your training as a diplomatic attaché might provide some useful insight as to what develops during the meeting.”

“I’ll come with you, but I can’t promise I will be much help.  My knowledge of Ruwallie Rasson customs and behaviors are mostly academic, as I was never required to work with any of them during my time in the Federation.  Even what I do know probably won’t fit with this group, as they’ve been operating for generations as a remote, rouge faction, separated from their home world and culture.  Padaran seems to know more about them than anyone else in your crew.”

“Even so, I would still like you to witness this meeting,” I said as we made our way to the secret entrance in Padaran’s suite.  “Your experience could still allow you to see something that Marranalis and I might miss.”

Kala and I seated ourselves in the chairs behind the crystals that afforded us a clear view of the room.  Sounds of the Ruwallie Rasson leaders could be heard clearly inside the hidden space, as the sound funneled in from various locations within the meeting room.  Marranalis stood behind us, where he could get some glimpses of what we were seeing and hear the pre-meeting discussions that were happening on the other side.  Padaran and Tondor had not yet entered the room.

“I don’t like having this white man as our
Dormon
,” one angry voice exclaimed.  “I don’t buy this idea that it is the will of the gods. 
We
are the Ruwallie Rasson;
we
are the chosen ones – not this white worm!”

Several of the others seemed to agree with this individual, but most remained quiet and said nothing.  One man did decide to speak up. 

“That’s easy for you to say, Jadong; you weren’t there to witness the events.  Most of us were, and we can attest to the divine nature of the event.  Never would I have believed that one puny white man, barely old enough to have hair on his chin, would be able to defeat any Ruwallie warrior – let alone one as skilled and seasoned as Tondor.  Yet he did, and with such ease that only the gods could have made it so.  But as if that were not enough, to have a
woman
beat another of our finest in just seconds…!  I tell you, it could
only
be a sign from the gods.”

Several of the other Ruwallie Rasson nearby voiced their agreement and voices buzzed as both sides argued their case.

“Bah!” the one called Jadong spat.  “You and your silly gods.  The gods are not real, I tell you.  There is some trickery involved — nothing more!”

“You are not going to start harping on that argument about there not being any gods again, Jadong.  We have all heard your blasphemes before.  Best you be silent, now that the gods have demonstrated their will, before you are humiliated before them.”

“I would like to see that happen,” Jadong sneered.  Just as he said this, Tondor, Kerabac and Padaran entered the room, and everyone fell silent.  Jadong turned and, upon seeing Padaran, he unsheathed a long dagger concealed inside his cloak.  He charged Padaran with the clear intent of skewering him. 

Padaran showed no surprise and smoothly sidestepped Jadong’s charge while grasping the arm holding the dagger in one hand and Jadong’s wrist with the other.  In a swift movement, he both twisted the arm and shoved Jadong’s wrist down, forcing him to drop the dagger.  At the same time, he continued following through with Jadong’s direction of movement, sending him flying out the door and into the wall on the other side of the corridor.  Jadong impacted the wall and slid down in a dazed heap. 

All this happened in the blink of an eye; and while the stunned Ruwallie Rasson watched, Padaran bent over calmly, picked up the fallen dagger and walked in a rather leisurely fashion across the hall.  In a move so fast that it was a blur, he slashed out with the blade, cutting a six-centimeter long gash in Jadong’s cheek.  Then, in an unbelievably calm voice, he said, “Your blood now belongs to me.  Do you wish for it to serve me, or do you wish for me to wash my floor with it?”

Jadong sat against the wall with a look of shock on his face.  He glanced down to see his blood dripping onto his shirt and then reached up and touched his cheek where the blood seeped.  Suddenly, he began to tremble.  Then he let out a moan and fell face forward on the floor, dead. 

Padaran looked confused for a brief moment and then examined the blade in his hand. 

“Poisoned blade,” Tondor said.  “He died by the blade and poison he intended for you,
Dormon
.  Truly, the gods protect you.”

Behind them in the room the Ruwallie Rasson who had just witnessed the event all dropped to their knees and mumbled prayers as Padaran, Tondor and Kerabac re
-entered the assembly room.

“I have a feeling Padaran is not going to have much more in the way of opposition during this meeting,” Marranalis whispered in my ear.

Padaran didn’t waste time getting to the issues at hand.  After directing the assembly to be seated, he told them that, if any of them still held slaves, they had one day to set them free with full compensation for their service.  He reaffirmed that the freed could be hired to continue their work under the conditions of respectable wages and fair treatment as free employees.  While there were grumblings about this, no one spoke out against him. 

He then addressed the matter of piracy, expressing that the Ruwallie Rasson must end the practice of pirating the cargos of other traders and merchants, and that all business must be conducted fairly and honestly to honor the favor and prosperity that had been shown them by the gods.  This caused a lot of angry voices to be raised, as clearly most of the Ruwallie Rasson cartel members had made an exclusive living as pirates rather than as traders. 

Padaran sat patiently, letting them vent their frustrations and anger until there was a lull in their complaints.  “There is one exception, however,” he said in a tone of authoritative proclamation.  You may raid, destroy, seize, steal, or do whatever you wish with any Brotherhood ships or goods that you find.”

I’m not sure what Padaran expected to happen at that point, but I know that I was shocked by the reaction of the room.  Everyone froze and went totally silent as they stared at Padaran.

“What’s happening?” Marranalis whispered.

“I have no idea, but clearly, I don’t think he expected this would happen,” said Kala.

“But
Dormon
,” one of the Ruwallie Rasson spoke up.  “We are no match for the Brotherhood.  They outnumber us several hundred to one.  They have larger and more powerful ships and fiercer weapons.  We cannot hope to take them on and steal their ships and goods and survive with our lives.”

“Are you not Ruwallie Rasson?” Padaran said in a firm voice.  “Are you not
the chosen
?  Do
the chosen
kneel before others?  How can you call yourself
the chosen
, if you cower before the Brotherhood like Brovian plees?  If you take just three of the Brotherhood corvettes and have the rest of your ships in a united fleet, you have the means to confront the Brotherhood and be victorious.  All you need to do is coordinate your first attacks so you take out three ships at one time.”

“Just how do you plan for us to do that?  Do you think we can simply fly up to one of their corvettes in our smaller ships and ask them to surrender it to us?” asked one of the men seated near the front of the room.

“Something like that,” Padaran responded with a slight grin.  “But I was thinking more in line with the Brotherhood inviting your ships, heavily laden with armed men, to board their corvettes.  You will simply surprise and overwhelm their crews and take over the ships.”

“I’m afraid you have been misinformed,
Dormon
,” another man said.  “We Ruwallie Rasson are not exactly best friends with the Brotherhood.  It is very unlikely they would invite us aboard their ships.”

“Ahh, but you are wrong!” Padaran exclaimed.  “Does not the Brotherhood armada demand daily that you stop so that they may inspect your ships?  Do they not make your smaller freighters dock to their corvettes so they might carry out an inspection?  If you load as many armed and ready Ruwallie Rasson men into three freighters and have them leave the planet from different locations at the same time, each approaching a different Brotherhood ship, challenges will be made by the Brotherhood and they will, as usual, insist that you stop for inspection.  If coordinated properly, all three ships should be able to dock with the Brotherhood corvettes at about the same time.  The Brotherhood troops aboard the ship will not anticipate any more than a handful of Ruwallie Rasson crew on each ship, so they will assign only a minimal security detail at the docking area.  Once docked, the Brotherhood will no doubt expect your crew to leave the ship while they search it.  Unbeknownst to them, you will leave your attacking forces inside the ship as the main crew disembarks for the inspection.  The Brotherhood will expect it to be empty, per the established routine, and will send in a squad to search the ship.  Once they are inside, the Ruwallie Rasson that remain aboard can quickly disable and capture them.  In the meantime, the crew that have left the ship will be surrounded only by minimal forces that think you are cooperating with them, so they will not expect you to attack.  But that is exactly what you will do.  With a very quick strike, you will have captured the docking area and already taken a number of the ship’s
crew out of action.  Next the crew will be joined by their brethren who have subdued the inspection crew to quickly spread throughout the ship and take over.  The first two areas of attack will be the bridge and engineering rooms.  They will not be expecting an attack so quickly and swiftly, and you will have control of the ship in minutes.”

“How do you expect us to be able accomplish all this?” one of the men interrupted.  “None of us knows our way around a Brotherhood corvette; they have never allowed any of us past the docking area.”

“That’s not a problem,” Padaran answered.  “I just happen to have a set of plans for the Brotherhood corvettes, and I will be most happy to share them with you all this evening.  Once you have captured the corvettes, you will send a message back here to your commanders, at which time additional Ruwallie Rasson ships will engage with the three taken ships and utilize your combined firepower to confront the Brotherhood.  I do not believe, however, that you will have to do so.”