Star Viking (Extinction Wars Book 3) (24 page)

Until this mission, I hadn’t needed precise information regarding the size, shape and extant of the Jade League. It was going to make a great deal of difference now.

In broad terms, the Jade League and Jelk Corporation touched the solar system at one of their far corners. The bulk of the league was in the direction of Rigel, while the bulk of the corporation was in the direction of Deneb.

What I hadn’t realized was the extent of the unease among certain Jade League members. With the removal of the main Saurian fleets from the border regions, the old quarrels among league members had reignited. We found out that meant a lack of Jade League guardians at the jump gates nearest Jelk territory.

Maybe that’s another reason Baba Gobo’s Starkiens had been at Epsilon Indi. As nomads, they moved into power vacuums. They went where enemy warships were thinnest.

We had occasion to speak with other trading crews and a few picket officers at a key jump gate. Four years ago, a league race known as the Ilk had begun an accelerated warship-building program. They controlled twelve star systems behind the border region. The Ilk had longstanding grievances against the Eiljanre and the Gitan. Several “incidents” had already taken place: ships firing on other vessels. Maybe as telling, the Ilk had purchased large numbers of troop transports.

In the worsening atmosphere, and with the removal of Lokhar warships from the border, the Ilk, the Eiljanre and the Gitan had pulled the bulk of their battle cruisers from jump gate duty. Those vessels now guarded their home systems and key colony worlds.

For us, it meant we had to answer a few questions at some jump gates, but that was it. Since we were a trading vessel, and a small one at that, it was clear we presented little danger to anyone. Fortunately, for the time being, the Jade League remained intact. That was important because the pickets could have acted as pirates, hijacking the
Peru
and stealing our cargo. Instead, the questions directed at us implied a desire for a continuation of interstellar trade.

For fifteen days, we made headway toward our destination of Horus, which was deep within the Jade League. With the relocation of the Saurian fleets, we dared to use several Jelk Corporation jump gates. That allowed us to enter the league at a different angle than if we’d headed straight from the solar system.

On the sixteenth day after leaving Earth, we had our first crises. The
Peru
jumped into the Octagon star system.

On the bridge, I toweled my face with a wet rag. I’d found it the quickest way to get me thinking again after a jump.

Using a clicker, I studied the system on the main screen. A bloated red giant sat in the center with three terrestrial rock-balls orbiting it, making up the inner system. The outer had a single Jovian planet with swirling green cloud cover. The gas world was one hundred thousand kilometers from the jump gate.

“Star fighters,” Ella said from her station.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“I’m picking up a trio of star fighters,” Ella said. “Let me give you higher magnification.”

She did something to her board. On the main screen, three triangular-shaped fighters leaped into view. I sat forward, squinting. Lokhar pilots sat under bubble canopies. Each of them wore a red-crested helmet.

“Those are tiger fighters,” Ella said.

My spine turned cold. Had we jumped into a trap? “Is there any indication as to their Tamika?” I asked.

“Look!” Ella said, tapping her panel. A yellow circle highlighted a red fireball beside the Lokhar numbers 312 on the side of the closest fighter.

“I recognize the symbol,” N7 said from his station. “The fighters belong to Crimson Tamika.”

“Do we know if Crimson stands with Orange or with Purple Tamika?” I asked.

“Oh-oh,” Ella said. “This isn’t good. I’m counting nine spaceships heading for us. Let me try the recognition codes so I can tell you what kind of warships they are.”

I disliked the wait. I wanted to know now why Lokhar warships headed for us on an intercept course. From my conversations with other freighter captains, I’d learned the Lokhar didn’t own any star systems in this region. They had fleet outposts, but most of the flotillas had abandoned them. The
Peru
had swung wide around the only known Lokhar-manned station. Two captains had spoken about the tigers choosing sides in what appeared to be a possible civil war. The growing rumor was that Orange Tamika led a secret rebellion against the Emperor.

Would the heightened tensions make our raid impossible? Maybe the brewing insurrection would keep the Emperor from Earth. I doubted it, though. It seemed the source of Doctor Sant’s authority came from Holgotha and his ride on the artifact. If Felix Rex Logos could discredit Sant by annihilating us and regaining control of Holgotha, might that cause Orange Tamika’s rebellion to fizzle?

In the here and now, Ella looked up with worry in her eyes. What had she discovered?

“Four Lokhar battle cruisers and five frigates are heading straight for us, Commander,” she said. “The ships are accelerating from a habitat orbiting the Jovian planet.”

I nodded, asking, “Are there any more star fighters?”

“Yes,” Ella said. “I’m picking up six more. Oh-oh, it looks like there’s a carrier out there, Commander.”

There went my notion of turning around and running away through the gate before the Lokhars reached our ship. Nine fighters would nail us before we could escape back the way we’d come.

“Give me a wide angle view of everything,” I said. In a few seconds, I studied the six new fighters. Tigers piloted them, too. I assumed the nine warships would also have Lokhar crews.

Turning my chair, I regarded N7. “This is bigger than a picket but much smaller than a fleet.”

“Given our data,” N7 said, “I do not understand why a force of this size is out here.”

“Commander,” Ella told me. “We’re being hailed.” She listened to her earbud. “Sir, a Crimson Tamika Lokhar demands to speak with our captain.”

“Put the tiger on the main screen,” I said.

A moment later, I faced the gaudiest Lokhar I’d ever seen. He was normal sized, which was to say seven feet tall. He wore a military cap with an ornate red badge on the bill. Crimson stripes ran up and down his black jacket. He had rows of medals on his chest. If he’d been an old-time Earther, I’d have figured him for a staff officer or a general trying to prove his manhood through the amount of tin he could pin on his chest. I’d never trusted such types.

On the spot, I decided on some playacting. What else could I have done? Letting my shoulders deflate, I lowered my head as if awed by his presence.

“Great war-leader,” I said in Lokhar. “This is an amazing honor. I am too dim to withstand the glory of your presence.”

N7 stared at me in astonishment.

“You know the great tongue,” the Lokhar said haughtily.

“Yes, yes,” I said, bobbing my head. “It is good for trade.”

His magnificence scowled. “Our noble tongue is used for
war
and to describe acts of
valor
. It is not used for
trade
.”

“Yes, yes,” I said. “You are most assuredly correct. Please forgive my error.”

The Lokhar raised an ornate baton, waving it imperiously. “You will prepare your ship for boarding,” he said. “Once my flotilla reaches you, I will send inspectors to check your holds.”

“O Great One,” I wailed. “This is not good. No. It is bad. I have a priceless cargo. I fear some of your soldiers might steal from me.”

The Lokhar became outraged, bristling. “Do you have any idea who you address?”

“I am at a terrible lack, lord. I do not know. No, no, please forgive me.”

“I am Senior Razor Dagon, the Lord Inspector of Crimson Tamika.”

“You are allied with Orange Tamika perhaps?” I asked meekly.

“By no means,” he declared. “We are in league with Purple Tamika. A vile species of…” He squinted at me. “What is your race, trader?”

“I am from Alpha Centauri, Great One.”

“You look like these humans we have come to destroy. Have you heard of Doctor Sant?”

“Who?” I asked.

“He is a renegade Lokhar of the vilest sort,” Dagon said. “He tells feeble lies that ensnare the simpleminded. During his stay with them, the humans warped Sant’s mind. By the species description, you appear to be human.”

I gathered saliva in my mouth and spat on the floor. “I despise the humans. Yes, I know about them. They are a wicked race of upstarts. No, Great One, to our bitter shame we of Alpha Centauri resemble these filthy mongrels. I am glad you Lokhars have decided to capture them all.”

“Foolish trader, we crusaders will
annihilate
the vermin.”

“Genocide, Great One?” I asked.

“We must cleanse these imps before they become demonic servants of the Jelk. How else can one explain their ability to warp a Lokhar of the oldest house?”

I was beginning to see the Emperor’s propaganda angle. Sant’s contact with devilish human had deranged him.

“Ah,” I said. “I had not realized humanity’s crime was so grave.”

“Yes,” the Lokhar said. “The Emperor himself comes to sit in judgment of them. He will lead us to glorious victory over the vermin.”

“He leads Crimson Tamika?” I asked.

The tiger’s eyes narrowed. “We have allied with Purple Tamika. That is true. Yet I wonder about you. Where did a simple trader come to learn about the Lokhars in such detail?”

On my chair, I cringed before him. “Please, my lord, all know about the mighty Lokhars. You are a valorous race, defending the artifacts with your blood.”

He nodded, but still seemed suspicious. I had to distract him with something else. What could I say, though? Then I thought I had it.

“I see your medals, lord. You must have an amazing war record.”

His eyes narrowed even more tightly than before. “I understand your tactic. Flattery will not help you, trader. We are guarding the league from all possible contact with the Earthlings. Prepare your ship for boarding. My soldiers will search your cargo and check your logs, insuring you have not secretly aided the targeted savages.”

“Please, Great One. Have mercy on me, a trader. I fear your soldiers will pilfer my rich goods. Perhaps if you came yourself, lord…”

I felt N7 watching me closely.

“I would gladly honor your visit by gifting you with precious gems from my rarest collection,” I said.

From Ras Claw, Ella had learned about the Lokhars’ love of jewelry. I was testing that lust.

Senior Razor Dagon, the Lord Inspector of Crimson Tamika, regarded me closely. A crafty smile slid across his face.

“Yes, I think I shall make this a personal inspection,” the tiger said. “You will of course, as a matter of protocol, send your highest-ranking officers aboard my flagship.”

“But of course, Great One. We will honor you in whatever way you deem necessary.”

“We will make the exchange in three hours,” the Lokhar said.

I smiled in the oiliest manner I could summon. Then the screen went blank as he broke contact.

“I do not understand, Commander,” N7 asked. “Once the Crimson Lord Inspector boards our ship, he will realize you’re human. Then he will kill all of us.”

“Tell Dmitri and Rollo they’re going over to the tiger flagship,” I said.

“What are you thinking, Creed?” Ella asked me.

I glanced back at N7 before studying Ella. “We’re going to have to work fast,” I said. “You brought the Jelk mind probe, right?”

“What?” Ella said. “I don’t know what you have in mind. I would need hours to prep him and study his psychology before I could begin to tamper with his mind. That is what you’re thinking, isn’t it?”

“That’s right,” I said. “We’ll subdue him once he’s on board and put him under the machine. You’ll have ten minutes to condition him.”

“Didn’t you just hear me?” Ella asked.

“I did. That’s why I’m telling you that you have ten minutes.”

“That will be long enough to scramble his brains, nothing more,” she said.

“If you don’t succeed,” I said, “Dmitri and Rollo will die, along with all of us under Lokhar lasers. That will mean the Lokhars win the crusade against Earth.”

“This is a rash plan,” Ella said.

I spread my hands. “Under the circumstances, I don’t see what else I can do. Senior Razor Dagon strikes me as an arrogant pretender. Our only hope is to get him to come aboard ship where we can condition him. At least we knew they love gems, so we were able to entice him with a bribe.”

“I am surprised he is so foolish,” N7 said.

“I’m not,” Ella said. “He has all the warships. He knows he can order our destruction with a snap of his fingers. Such a situation often makes humans overconfident. Creed’s guess was to believe it would do the same thing for Lokhars.”

“We don’t have him yet,” I said. “So let’s get ready.”

***

Three hours later, I shook Rollo and Dmitri’s hands before watching them enter a hatch. They would board a three-man flyer and head to the Lokhar flagship. I wondered if I’d ever see either of them again.