Stars of Charon (Legacy of the Thar'esh Book 1) (19 page)

He paused
to order another drink, and then continued.

“Well,
Loid saw that the young and shapely Celestrial woman who was running the
operation, the one that’s now the Matron of this joint, was worried, and, well,
you know Loid. That was all it took. He fired up
Tons-o-Fun
and went
around the asteroid. Nobody is quite sure what he intended to do, but he was
drunk enough that I was surprised he made it out of the docking bay. Well,
anyway, he went in for a closer look and forgot to ease off the throttle and
actually rammed his hull right into the rock, getting the
Tons
half
stuck in the damned asteroid.”

I
laughed, harder than I had meant to. The drink was potent.

“By luck
or by fate, he had managed to punch a hole right in to where the miners were
trapped without collapsing the whole thing. They thought it was another cave
in, and they were all huddled waiting for death when the
Ton
’s bow came
crashing into the cavern. All those poor saps saw when they turned on their
flashlights was the nekid woman painted on
Ton
’s bow!”

“Oh
lord,” Loid cut back into our conversation. “Not this again.”

“See,”
Cwaylyn continued. “Since the miners all had their environmental suits on, they
were alright. Though in another hour they would have been out of air, Loid
managed to kick in the reverse thrusters to pull the
Tons
out and save
the miners, completely by accident, and it all somehow made him famous among
the Celestrials.”

“It was
not an accident,” Loid answered flatly. “I scanned their location and was going
in to save them.”

“Oh what
a bucket of centi-hound piss,” Cwaylyn roared. “With the lead content in that
rock your scanners couldn’t penetrate shit! So there you have it, the legend of
Loid Burns, the man behind the stone-crushing breasts! The great
Eti’katc’kahn!”

As I
laughed, I saw Loid’s eyes shift from left to right. Several heads turned
toward us at the sound of his name.

“Cway,”
Loid took the big man by the arm. “A bit more discretion.”

“Or what
little man?” Cwaylyn laughed stepped forward, chest bumping Loid back into the
short, stout frame of a grumbling humanoid.

Loid said
a quick apology, and looked over to me, “How many did he have?”

“Just two
that I saw, but I think he’s been here a while,” I answered.

“Oh a
bit, yes a bit,” Cwaylyn laughed for no apparent reason. “Don’t look so sour
there Loidy! Loidy, heh, Loidy sounds like lady.”

More
faces turned to look in our direction.

“We need
to shut him up,” Loid pulled me close. “The man I was just talking to is an old
friend. He says that there is a hit out on Ju-lin. They have a picture,
detailed description, place of birth, everything. There is a contract is out
for her.”

“A hit?
Like to kill her?” I stumbled. “Who? How?”

Fear
began to creep into my chest, constricting my breathing.

“Oh,
what, plotting a scam without me eh?” Cwaylyn leaned into our conversation and
whispered loudly. “Don’t leave me out! I’m in! I’m in! What are we doing?”

Loid
rolled his eyes and handed Cwaylyn his half-finished drink. Cwaylyn took it,
and with a drink in both hands, was quiet again.

“From
what it sounds like, they have rough descriptions of us,” Loid said quickly.
“I’m sure as hell glad that Ju-lin stayed back at the room, we would have never
made it out of here if we’d brought her.”

“MineWorks,”
I said. “It must be MineWorks. They would have full records on Ju-lin.”

“But not
you?” Loid asked. “The thought crossed my mind, but you were a colonist too,
they would have full records on you as well.”

I was
silent a moment.

“What are
you hiding
now
?” Loid hissed, incensed that we had kept yet another
secret. “I’m really tired of this ‘don’t tell Loid until someone is about to
start shooting at us’ thing.”

As he
said it, there was a high pitched squeal behind me followed by a flash of light
just over my left shoulder. I flinched and looked up to see a smoking hole in
the pagoda behind Loid, the blast had narrowly missed his head.

Cwaylyn
dove over both of us, pulling us to the ground as a second shot sizzled through
the air where Loid’s head had been.

“Are you
kidding
me right now?” Loid yelled as he pulled himself back to his feet.

Cwaylyn
turned on all fours, and threw himself in the direction of the shooter. There
was a crushing hit and another high pitched squeal.

“I got
you, ya villain!” Cwaylyn howled as the crowd closed in around him.

“You
okay?” Loid offered a hand to pull me to my feet.

“Yeah,” I
said. “What was that?”

“I got him!”
Cwaylyn got back to his feet, lifting a wiggling and screaming sack in his left
hand. A makeshift laser pistol was in his right hand, he snapped it in two.

“Got her
you mean?” Loid said, stepping forward as he straightened his jacket

In the
dim light of the bar I looked up and saw the familiar face of the young Noonan,
Tolo, who had led us to Joof’s shop.

The crowd
stepped back as the security staff closed in.

“Murderers!”
I read the scrolling words above her head as she squealed. “You killed my Joof!
Right there in her shop!”

“Killed
your Joof?” Cwaylyn shook her vigorously. “What the hell is a Joof?”

Loid and
I exchanged quick glances.

“Joof’s
dead?” Loid asked in surprise, his face was turning white.

“You
killed her!” Tolo screeched and pointed to Loid as she dangled from Cwaylyn’s
grip. “Snuck back in because she wouldn’t tell you what you wanted!”

The crowd
stepped back further as four security guards closed in.

“We
didn’t kill anyone,” I answered.

“When did
she die?” Loid asked.

“Within
an hour after you left,” Tolo was convulsing now in some kind of fit. “I left
to get dinner and you came back, she was, oh! You killed my Joof.”

“Oh
that’s not good,” Loid muttered.

“Now
listen little mole-person,” Cwaylyn said, swung Tolo around to face him. “My buddy
Eti’katc’kahn didn’t kill nobody, well, not today at least. At least if he says
he didn’t do it, he didn’t do it.” Cwaylyn swayed a little as he held the
Noonan dangling above the floor. “Now that you mention it, I’m not certain
myself. Loidy did you kill a Joof?”

“Remind
me to find a new drinking buddy,” Loid sighed.

“Mr.
Jones,” one of the uniformed guards said in flawless common. “Please set the
Noonan down.”

“Like
hell,” Tolo squealed again as Cwaylyn shook her vigorously. “This thing tried
to shoot my friend!”

“Mr.
Jones, we are aware of that. She smuggled a laser weapon into the Par’eth, an
offence we take very, very seriously.”  The Celestrial responded. “Which makes
her our responsibility to deal with.”

“Oh,
right. Yeah.” Cwaylyn dropped Tolo on the floor unceremoniously. “Here, take
this little blast cannon she had too, as evidence or whatnot. Some kind of
plastic I think. I busted it up.”

The
Celestrial said something as he took the remains of Tolo’s laser cannon while
two other guards stepped forward and quickly grabbed Tolo by each arm, taking
her away.

“We
apologize,” the Celestrial bowed low. “We are ashamed of this intrusion into
the sanctuary of the Par’eth. A round of drinks on the bar, compliments of the
house.”

“Well
now,” Cwaylyn patted the guard on the back. “Good thing too, I dropped mine!”

“Sirs,”
soft voice called. Loid and I turned to see a female Celestrial, with smooth,
young skin wearing a softly flowing dress and a light green veil. “The Matron
will see you now, please, come with me.”

“Of
course,” Loid answered.

We turned
to follow her

“Hey
boys, where are you heading?” Cwaylyn lunged forward to catch us. “The party’s
just warming up!”

 “Cway,
thanks for the help, but we got it from here,” Loid answered, and then waved
for the barkeepers attention. “My free round to Mr. Jones here!”

The
bartender with the nose ring snorted, but nodded in assent.

“There we
are!” Cwaylyn’s face lit up with a smile. “We’ll have to catch up later then
Loid, you too kid. Whatever your name was. Enjoy the Matron! Hah!”

With
that, Cwaylyn turned back to make his way to the bar, and Loid and I turned to
follow the young Celestrial to meet the Matron.

Chapter 21.

I entered the cockpit. The damage from the battle was
evident. Warning lights flashed, there were cracks on one of the displays, a
plate of food was scattered on the floor.  My cadre followed me as we continued
to the galley, again, empty. Nobody hiding in the shadows, empty sleeping pods,
nothing. Nobody.

Tren caught my attention with a low growl, pointing to a
hatch that led to the cargo hold. He was about to enter but I gestured him to
stand aside. He did so without question. I slowly opened the hatch and leaned
forward, increasing the audio sensitivity on my suit. Breathing. The crew was
there. I opened the hatch completely without a sound, and slowly lowered myself
into the cargo hold.

There were three of them. Human men. They were huddled in the
far side of the cargo bay, staying in the shadows. I enhanced my visor,
darkness would not hide them from me. These humans—this ship—this was my
redemption. I drew my blade and stepped toward the nearest of my prey. A human
holding a lead pipe.

I stepped forward and faked to my right. Fooled, he moved to
his right to avoid me, and in that moment, I struck. He screamed as my blade
was bathed in his blood.

I turned to the others. They were frightened. They knew their
death had come. I had come.

Redemption.

Loid and
I followed our guide as we left the bar and walked quietly through the dimly
lit and twisting paths in the rear of the Par’eth dome. This was clearly the
heart of the “pleasure house.” Though most of the beds were covered with domed
privacy shields, a few were still uncovered. Nearby a variety of humanoids
dressed in form fitting, gossamer robes. Waiting for clients I assumed. As we
passed by a small group, I was momentarily surprised to see that there were
equal numbers male and females in the group.

Not far
ahead, a dome slid open. A grey-haired woman was finishing buttoning up her
coat to leave, behind her I saw a muscular Celestrial man and a female Noonan
with a voluptuous body and soft golden hair still lying on the bed. Apparently
they were hiding more than pale skin beneath those robes. I paused, momentarily
stunned.

“The
Par’eth is devoted to catering to all appetites,” our guide said quietly as we
passed. “No matter how voracious or unusual they may be.”

“Apparently,”
Loid whispered as he nudged me forward.

We
continued down the path toward the rear of the dome. Ahead was another privacy
dome, this one much larger. Two armed guards stood out front. As we approached,
our guide gave a curt nod, and the guards parted. A section of the privacy dome
faded into mist and our guide gestured to us to enter.

As I
passed through I realized that what I had thought were glass domes were
actually some kind of soundproof force-field with a murky sheen. I wondered at
the possibility of using a shield like that to visually cloak a ship from view,
sure, the electronic systems would still be visible on a scan, but visually-

Loid’s
elbow in my gut interrupted my train of thought.

I glanced
over to see that he was bowing low, I fumblingly did the same. After a moment, I
slowly raised my head to see the Matron watching us. She was wearing the same
sheer robes as the consorts I had seen out in the Par’eth, though hers was more
ornate with intricate designs, symbols and glyphs sewn into the lapels. She was
a broad woman, but she carried her weight lightly and with an undeniable air of
grace and authority. She wore a circlet decorated with sparkling luminous gems
across her forehead and a thin blue veil.

“Guards,
thank you. You may leave us,” I read the ComBand’s translation as she spoke.

The
Matron regarded us silently as the guards left and the force field made a
whispering sound as it sealed shut behind them.

“Loid,”
her eyes smiled as she spoke in crisp, clear Common. “It’s good to see you old
friend.’

“And you
too Matron,” Loid stepped forward to meet her embrace.

I looked
away, awkwardly.

“It’s
been too long,” she said. “I hope you are okay? Lati just told me about the
Noonan girl, I’m not sure how she was able to smuggle a laser into the
Par’eth.”

“Oh we’re
fine,” Loid answered, waving away her concern. “It looked like it was made of
some composite plastic, you may want to adjust your sensors to scan for
ammunition energy signatures rather than just weapon components.”

“They
already do,” she answered.

“Oh,
well,” Loid paused. “Then that’s—”

“Troubling,”
she finished. “I already ordered a full review of our security protocols. And
your companion, I’m sorry for the delayed introduction, it has been a long time
since I have seen my good friend here. I am Matron of this Par’eth. A friend of
Loid’s is a friend to this house.”

“Thank
you ma’am, er madam,” I fumbled, beneath her veil I saw her eyes had streaks of
blue along with amber and gold.

“This is
Elicio,” Loid cut in, saving me from my momentary embarrassment. “And we need
your help.”

“Something
tells me this isn’t just about an angry little Noonan and a dead merchant,” she
sighed as she sat down. “Please, have a seat.”

Loid and
I lowered ourselves onto two seating pillows that were laid out in front of her
large and ornate throne-like seat.

“You know
that I will help you as I can, what do you ask of me?”

Loid and
I exchanged glances, and he began telling her the story about the colony, and
the duel between the Draugari and the Celestrial ships. Loid outlined the
events from the last several days, though he left out several details, such as
Ju-lin’s name and the contract out on her life, and the cave. Loid trusted her,
but only so far.

“So what
is it you are asking of me?” she paused. “I do not who killed this Noonan, what
was the name? Joof? You say it wasn’t you, and I believe you. I can see if any
of my people know who did, and who is following you. Regarding identifying who
bought the message drone, I can probably find out, but that may take some time,
a day perhaps.”

“That
would be a start,” Loid answered.

“Though
the real question,” she continued, and looked at me. “The question you haven’t
asked, what is it?”

Loid
shifted in his seat.

“Eti, I
know you too well for this. I know you won’t tell me everything, and that’s fine.
I would be doing the same in your situation. But this messenger drone and
whoever killed this poor Noonan are just leads. You’re grasping at straws.
Anyone could have killed the trader. According to my logs she owed money all
over the system and was known to supply pirates. She even owed the Par’eth a
goodly amount.  And anyone could have bought the drone and cracked the
encryption. You know how business is around here, the drone and the data could
have been sold and resold at least a dozen times after the Noonan had it. What
else do you know? What is it you are really looking for?”

“The
Celestrial ships that attacked the colony,” I swallowed hard. “They had silver
stars on their wings.”

“Stars?”

“Four
points,” I answered, holding up my hands to make the shape. “Symmetrical.”

“I’d
never seen that kind of marking on a ship,” Loid said. “We want to know whose
marking it is.”

She
leaned back in her seat a moment. She was so still I wasn’t sure if she was
breathing.

“If you
don’t know then we’ll follow the other leads, any information you can find by
tomorrow morning on the drone or the Noonan’s killer,” Loid continued. “But we
probably won’t stay in-system very long.”

“The
symbol is called the Vasudeva, it represents a star, a lost star,” the Matron
said slowly, quietly. “There is an old legend, a very, very old legend, about
the star system Vasudeva.” 

“Never
heard of it,” Loid said. “I thought I knew them all.”

“When my
people first set out from our home world, Vasudeva was one of the first star
systems we found. It was home to fifteen worlds, six of them habitable. We
settled there and thrived. The stories say that there were over fifteen billion
of my people living in peace around Vasudeva.”

“Why have
I never heard of it?” Loid asked.

“It is
one story our people do not tend to share,” the Matron replied flatly. “The
stories tell of something that came out of the black in those times. Ships
started disappearing, thriving new colonies started to suddenly go silent. It
happened over and over again. Our people call it the Thar’esh.”

“Thar’esh,”
I interrupted. “Isn’t that the creature that took bites out of children’s
souls?”

“The myth
of the void souls, yes,” the Matron nodded gravely.

“I love
folklore,” Loid said. “And I know well enough that the old legends all grew
from some seed of truth. The story about void souls is hollow enough, but
disappearing colonies and ships: there has to be some truth in that. What was
the Thar’esh? A disease? An alien? The Draugari maybe?”

“We do
not know for certain,” the Matron answered. “Some of the stories of the
Thar’esh include descriptions of blades flying through the dark of space.
Because of the blades, many believe that they are about a feud we once had with
the Draugari, but not all are convinced.”

“Why?” I
asked.

“Because
of Vasudeva,” she answered. “The stories say that Thar’esh pushed in, erasing
ships and colonies. With every Celestrial the Thar’esh killed, they grew
stronger, always moving toward Vasudeva. Our greatest generals and strongest
ships couldn’t stop them. The Thar’esh always knew just where to strike. When
the Thar’esh finally came to the world, the leader of Vasudeva, the serving
Emperor’s granddaughter, a Celestrial scientist named Navali, tried to defend
her worlds but failed. The Thar’esh attacked, and the star, Vasudeva, blinked
out of existence. Fifteen billion souls. Gone. They say that the darkness of
the Thar’esh consumed the star, and with it all of her worlds.”

“What
happened to the Thar’esh?” I asked.

 “After
that? Nothing. The stories say that after consuming the system and all of her
souls, the hunger of the Thar’esh was finally satisfied and they killed no
more.”

“What
was
the Thar’esh?” Loid pressed. “An alien? An astronomical anomaly?”

“Mysteries,”
she shrugged.

“The Celestrial
Empire has starships and records. They had to have the flux point coordinates
for Vasudeva. You’re telling me nobody ever went looking to see what had
happened?” Loid asked.

“We have
the flux point coordinates, but there no longer is a flux point,” the Matron
answered. “They say the Thar’esh swallowed it as well.”

Loid
pondered a moment, “So Vasudeva went supernova, destroying the system, and
destabilizing the flux point?”

“Yes and
no,” she answered. “There is nothing burning where Vasudeva once was. No black
hole. No anomalies. There was no nova. The star was replaced with black. Though
if you look out in the sky you can still see where she burned. It will be a few
more hundred years before her last light reaches us and fades. But without an
active flux point, we cannot find out more. Vasudeva was the home to our
archives and records. So much was lost.”

Loid and
I were silent for a moment, absorbing her words.

“So,” I
said after a moment of silence. “The ships with the star, with Vasudeva on
their wing, who are they?”

“They are
the Collegiate,” she answered. “You know that the Celestrials must go to the
academy and study for at least twenty years? Well, the Collegiate is comprised
of those who attended forty or more. It’s a selective group.”

“A
Celestrian secret society?” Loid asked. “Haven’t heard of that before.”

“I
suppose that’s the point of a secret society isn’t it? But it’s nothing like
your Earthborn mafias or some Domari pirate gang,” she continued. “It’s more of
a brother and sisterhood.  The markings on the ships you saw were removable.
When a member of the Collegiate is called upon, they act in secret. They would
have removed all other markings from their ships except the Vasudeva.”

“So
someone called the Collegiate to go attack the colony?” I asked. “But why?”

“It all
goes back to Vasudeva itself,” she answered. “The Collegiate are historians.
They don’t just study the old stories, they are like your friend Loid here.
They believe that the old stories hold the deepest truths, both factually and
metaphorically. They believe there is truth behind the stories of Vasudeva and
the Thar’esh “

“If they
were historians, why did they attack?” I asked. “Shouldn’t an historian be
someone who tries to preserve and record history, rather than vaporizing things?”

“That is
the Earthborn way of thinking,” she answered. “Your lives are shorter and you
do not look as far down the road as my people do. We have many histories that
we have chosen to forget. My father lived for one hundred and forty four years.
In that time he saw many things. Some things he remembered and cherished, other
things he chose to forget. Like a starship, our direction forward as a people
is determined by the forces behind us that have propelled us on our way. When a
pilot wants to change directions in space, she does not only turn her head. She
must alter the thrust that pushes her to truly change direction.”