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IT WAS PROBABLY inevitable. The Prelates of Tailax, and their overlords in the Meleyephatian Horde were no fools, and I wouldn’t have managed to keep up the charade forever. It was just a shame that they uncovered it so early. I was hoping to string them along for another month or two, winning some time for myself and new technologies for Earth. It was a shame that it didn’t work out. Forty percent of the known star systems in the galaxy were off limits to me now? Oh well! Outer space is infinite, so I’m sure I’ll find plenty of room for me and my starship.
I wasn’t worried for myself one bit. However, all my thoughts immediately turned to the pretty girl with massive eyes. The Tailaxian prison-guards were fully capable of finding and killing her through the implants in her body and that went for both the virtual and real worlds. I suspect that if I had ever once expressed even a hint of interest in Valeri, she would already have been dead. Both as punishment for her failing to recruit me, and to teach me a lesson.
Valeri-Urla was in the game now. I got in touch with my business partner Gerd Uline Tar and asked her to assemble the whole crew in hangar 6-103, where my frigate had been stationed for repair. She immediately told me that Denni Marko considered his contract complete and left us with the words: “To hell with the pirate life! I’m sick of constantly dying!” Denni tried to get Nefertiti to come with him, and the NPC Dryad considered it but, in the end, decided to stay with her husband Kisly the Machinegunner. Not a word was spoken about Valeri. And if someone else from the crew was missing, Uline Tar would certainly have mentioned it.
And then, finally, hangar 6-103. Much more spacious than the ones the dispatchers gave us before. The two fuselages meant we needed more space than an ordinary frigate, so it was a welcome change. Without waiting for the ship to come to a complete stop and lower the gangway, I opened the main hatch and gracefully hopped down the seven feet to the metal floor. I walked over to my team, who were standing at attention in a neat line, and started my speech with some scathing words:
“You all deserve a horseradish-lubed halligan bar shoved up your asses! Are you a team of professionals, or a paltry band of whipping boys? Why is it that after every fight, no matter how brief, the only survivors are me and Gerd T’yu-Pan along with another random crew member or two? Greasy hooker’s ass! Why do the rest of you just drop like flies?”
I saw my crew lower their heads under my heavy gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Little Sister the Shadow Panther stealing up behind me, but she stopped herself and decided to come play with me when I was in a better mood. Even the two respawned Kirsan repair bots could sense my state and, their many arms folded across their chest, were keeping their heads down.
“Repair this at once!” I said, tossing them the Small Relict Guard Drone, which was still malfunctioning for some reason, and the metal millipedes hurried into the frigate with the drone as not to test their captain’s patience.
“Valeri, fall out of formation! I’m going to need you soon so I can try to send an important message to the Prelates of Tailax through you.”
Whew! It felt like a heavy stone had fallen off my soul. For some reason I had absolutely no doubt that Valeri’s Tailaxian prison-guards were currently watching me via the implants in her body. And meanwhile deciding whether the best time to kill their prisoner was with everyone watching to prove a point. When I said I had an important message, they heard that and stayed the girl’s execution for a time. Okay, I’ll have to try and use that.
I walked down the line again, trying to look each of them in the eyes. I stopped in front of Destroying Angel and Grim Reaper. The German brother and sister pair’s levels had grown explosively! They’d almost caught up to me!
“None of these biting words apply to the two of you. I’m perfectly satisfied with your performance. Sure you didn’t survive but, by some miracle you managed to take down a high-profile level-207 Spy before you died. When I saw the ghastly Meleyephatian ringleader’s corpse, it looked like a screen door!”
But as for Kisly, Svetlana Vereshchagina, Imran, Eduard and all the other soldiers I was decidedly unhappy, and said so openly. No matter how sudden the Meleyephatian attack may have been, that was why I had fighters in my crew – so they could quickly respond to threats and offer resistance! I survived killing two attackers, and took another one captive. Meanwhile, the whole rest of the crew was only able to take down five Meleyephatians, and three of them were killed by newcomer Eeeezzz 777. That was a shameful result. I might even call it humiliating!
I sharply fell silent because the gangway came down behind me and the eight rescued La-Shin Faction soldiers came down. No matter how great my dismay may have been, I was not going to dress down my team in front of outsiders. This was strictly between us and none of their business!
However, not all eight of the La-Shin Faction players were outsiders as such:
“Gerd Uline, come over here! The redhead,” I pointed at San-Sano, who had already scared up a light spacesuit to replace her thin cotton clothing, “sign her up to our crew as second Engineer and assistant to Orun Va-Mart. She has proved herself quite intelligent. In fact, she was able to figure out how the synchronized power units were setup all on her own. We need clever minds such as hers. And have Gerd Ayni bring the others to hangar 8-505. We rented a Shiamiru shuttle there to transport cargo to the Relict Faction. Have the Translator tell the captain to bring them to Earth and let them out at the Geckho spaceport. And then start trying to sell the rare-earth metals we captured. I need those five boxes of lanthanoids and other goods sold within one day!”
Much to my surprise, curly-haired Machinegunner Timka-Vu stepped out in front. He didn’t speak a word of Geckho but somehow understood we were talking about him among other things. The muscular dark-skinned guy in torn black and green clothing got down on one knee and began:
“Coruler Gnat La-Fin! I most humbly request you take me with you as well! I am a capable and fearless warrior, a great shot and I have won several Army competitions in un-gaki, a kind of martial art. I am prepared to swear allegiance to house La-Fin. And I promise you will not regret it if you deign to take me in!”
Intriguing. Very intriguing... I looked at the leader of the boarding team, but Gerd T’yu-Pan just shrugged his shoulders indefinitely. He didn’t know anything about the Machinegunner and thus could not give an answer.
“Can you tell me about un-gaki?” I asked, wanting at least one question answered. And I got a long-winded detailed reply that un-gaki was a form of no-rules fighting that used a wooden slat as a stand-in for a knife along with hands and feet. A “knife” to the eyes or heart counted as a fatal blow, and the receiving fighter would be eliminated. The rules permitted strangling and submission holds, as well as matches with more than one fighter. And that could take the form of “team versus team” or “everyone for themselves.”
Okay then, my interest was piqued! Of the eight La-Shin Faction players we rescued, Timka-Vu was the only one to survive the Meleyephatian attack. I’d have to test how good he really was and see whether I saved him by coincidence or it was a sign.
“You’ll fight against two warriors at once,” I suggested to the level-112 Machinegunner. “If you can take them, you’re in. Captain’s word! If you can’t, you’ll be sent to Earth along with the others. Do you accept my conditions?”
Successful Authority check!
The dark-skinned athlete pulled off his torn shirt in silence and started flexing his wrists. I ordered my team to form a thirty-foot-diameter circle, then ran my gaze over them. I figured choosing Gerd T’yu-Pan the Shocktroop as an opponent for Timka would be too harsh. The experienced veteran was a big bruiser. He would tear the young Machinegunner to shreds even one-on-one. Gerd Ayni or one of the Miyelonians? That wouldn’t even be a fight, just a series of fast movements and stabs to the back. What about Imran? The Dagestani sambo fighter had raised a hand to volunteer. And my wayedda Minn-O also raised her hand next to the Gladiator. So, my wife wants to limber up and prove herself? Why not? Her pregnancy isn’t all that far along. The child won’t be harmed. I announced my decision:
“Up against Timka-Vu will be Princess Minn-O La-Fin and Vasha Tushihh!”
The huge furry Vasha gave a satisfied rumble and entered the circle. Minn-O changed out of her usual spacesuit into a form-fitting track suit. However, the dark-skinned fighter’s reaction was as instantaneous as it was unexpected: Timka-Vu... laid down on his back, admitting defeat!
“I could never hit Minn-O the magess. She’s a member of the La-Fin ruling dynasty! I’d be hanged for that back home,” the Machinegunner explained.
Damn! Again I had overlooked a peculiarity of the magocratic world. Did that mean all Minn-O’s trainers and phy ed instructors in childhood were court mages? After all, someone must have taught the Princess to fight. But Timka-Vu was clearly not a court mage, so I had to tweak my choices:
“Imran and Vasha Tushihh! Uh, no!” I stopped Timka-Vu from taking out his wooden knife. “And all three will be using real blades!”
* * *
IT WAS AMAZING! THE battle had everyone on tenterhooks from the first second all the way to the last. And that with the fact that Timka-Vu very nearly lost right at the beginning, when Vasha Tushihh displayed surprising speed for his four-hundred-fifty-pound bodyweight, got up next to the dark-skinned fighter and grabbed him by the shoulder with a clawed paw. Blood spattered. Raising the human body over his head with a roar and holding it in his outstretched paws for several seconds to the jubilant cries of the audience, the massive Geckho threw Timka-Vu forcefully back-first onto the hangar’s metal floor. The thundering crash was so loud I figured the dark-skinned fighter was dead. But no! The level-112 Machinegunner’s life bar fell into the orange, but he still had thirty hitpoints left. Cripes! I would have died if someone threw me like that!
Meanwhile, the enraged Geckho discovered much to his surprise that his opponent was still kicking and let out a war cry, then forcefully slammed his heavy right fist into the fallen Timka’s stomach, knocking the wind out of the dark-skinned fighter. The blow was as forceful as could be! But Timka was still alive, and Vasha meanwhile... froze in fear when a steel blade came to a stop one millimeter from his eye.
“Vasha Tushihh is eliminated!” I declared and immediately stopped Imran, who was already getting a better grip on his knife, about to finish off his barely moving enemy. “Break! Gerd Mauu-La Mya-Ssa, stop the wounded fighter’s blood loss!”
Vasha, upset, stood heavily and shuffled over to the audience where his crewmates gave him approving pats on the back. While the nimble Miyelonian Medic fussed around closing up the tear wounds on the dark-skinned fighter’s shoulder, I took a thermos from my inventory containing a cocktail for restoring Endurance Points.
“Timka, catch!”
The Machinegunner sitting on the floor got his bearings, extended a hand and caught the flying vessel, giving a clear demonstration that his coordination was just fine despite the fresh wounds. He opened it, sucked greedily at the thermos and, a few seconds later, threw it back empty.
“Thank you, Coruler! I’m ready to continue!”
Timka-Vu stood decisively despite the fluffy Medic’s objections and walked into the center of the ring. The audience greeted the return of the dark-skinned fighter with shouts of elation and applause. Even Imran bowed in respect, expressing reverence for his rival’s determination and bravery.
What came next was a series of repositionings, blows and blocks interspersed with the sound of metal clinking on metal. The Dagestani’s agile slicing very nearly brought the fight to an end, but Timka dodged against all odds, avoiding a stab to the chest by falling to the floor and rolling. Imran’s serrated blade meanwhile went in up to the very handle and got stuck, embedded in a floor grate. The Gladiator’s next unarmed minute was rough going, but you don’t earn the rank of “Sambo Master” for nothing! It’s has great techniques for fighting empty-handed against a knife! And soon Timka’s dagger flew out of the circle, knocked away by a spin kick. After another series of blows, I announced another break because now both fighters needed medical attention.
“I think that’s enough!” I voiced my decision. “Timka-Vu has proven himself worthy of joining our team. Gerd Uline Tar, sign him on!”
Shouts of delight rang out from all directions. Even the repairmen sent down by the dispatchers at the hangar entrance were whooping for joy, expressing their approval of the hard-fought battle. And they started congratulating the dark-skinned sweat- and blood-soaked fighter right away. The crew of Tamara the Paladin greeted its new member very warmly. I then sent a mental message to Medic Gerd Mauu-La:
“As soon as you’re done with these two, go over to the long-distance communications cabin at the end of the hall. And don’t forget to take your flying coffin of tools with you. The time has come for the complex operation to remove all implants from the Beastmaster’s body.”
The orange Medic gave a nod of comprehension without turning his big-eared head in my direction. Great! Then I called Valeri and, in an even tone, said that her and I needed to go to the nearest long-distance communication cabin to talk with Tailax because the Meleyephatian Horde was reacting “very strangely.”
Five minutes later I was standing at an automatic terminal and, casually blocking it from Valeri’s view with my body, paid for a whole ummi in the cabin. Yes, it cost a pretty penny. But Valeri’s life was worth incomparably more to me!
Once inside the long-distance communication cabin with its constantly changing fluid-like walls, totally cut-off from the outside world, I explained to Valeri what we were really doing. I was worried the proud Beastmaster would just laugh my fears off, but the Tailaxian girl wasn’t the least bit surprised:
“You know, Gnat, I could sense something was up! I’ve been feeling an ache in my chest all day. I even went to Mauu-La for a consultation. I thought I was having heart troubles. My Danger Sense improved three times as well, but there was never an obvious reason... I guess that means my prison-guards sentenced me to death as a punishment for failing to recruit you. Thankfully, I’m safe here inside the long-distance communications cabin. But I won’t be able to stay here forever!”
I told Valeri about the operation I’d been planning with the experienced Miyelonian Medic to remove her implants. I even turned on my Prospector Scanner and showed her the placement of all the microcapsules on the three-dimensional image. The Beastmaster was intrigued and spent a long time staring at the diagram of her body, turning it every which way. Then she laughed:
“So, I guess you were peeking when I was swimming nude in the sea by Rocky Island. Secretly taking pictures of a naked girl... Shame on you! Pervert! Okay, I’m joking. Sorry captain. I’m just very nervous. After all, you probably know this but no one has ever successfully removed all the tracking microcapsules before. Tailax is famed for it – the invisible leash its intelligence services put around their prisoners’ necks is impossible to remove. One wrong move and... kaboom! My heart’s in tatters or a lethal poison is coursing through my veins. And after all, in my case the operation will have to be carried out twice – first in the game, then in the real world! But I still agree to risk it.”
She crouched down and extended an arm into empty space. A moment later, Little Sister was right there, presenting her neck for her master to stroke. The Beastmaster spent a long time staring into her pet’s eyes, sending a mental message to the Shadow Panther. Then out loud, so I would hear, she said:
“Be a nice girl until I get back. Do what this man says. And if I never come back...” Valeri took a sigh of pity, little tears quivering out of her huge hazel eyes. “Then Gnat will be your new master!”
