NASTRAGULL: Pirates (44 page)

He wondered what people would think if they knew the design was similar to the mark he had burnt into Alexa's left buttock—with the exception that, then, it had been two lines next to a circle, rather than an eye or triangle, and there was one more line on the right side. He had seen his new design many times in a dream that had begun to disturb his sleep in recent weeks. He didn't understand the dream. It was as if someone else had controlled his hand when he had programmed the design into the pirate woman's brander.

One of the monks was a skilled blacksmith, and had made the belt buckle for him in the ship's smithy. The monk had liked the design, informing Alec that it reminded him of something—but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. And of course Behl and Captain Zlo had asked about the sign when he had it painted on the
Predator
's hull, but Alec had difficulty explaining it. Frances, on the other hand, had simply nodded, while Tota stared at it with a concerned look, silent for once. One thing Alec hadn't done was put the ensign on the uniforms of any of the crew, including the officers' uniforms and his own; and when asked why, he had simply said, "You...
we
have to earn it."

Alec was flanked by former pirates Nina and Tara, to his right and left, respectively. Nina had clamped onto Alec's arm like a parasitic plant. The brunette wore a stunning dress made entirely of pale, shimmering pearls, which whispered faintly whenever she moved. The long gown shopped short of the floor to reveal her black boots, which any fashion designer would have said killed the outfit. She'd made herself up with cosmetics that matched the tattoo on her right side of her forehead, and carried a large sun feather that she idly fanned herself with. Tara wore an outfit much like Nina's, but hers was made out of golden pearls that matched the current color of her hair—and of course she hated the color, which Alec had selected. She wore little make-up, and making her wear that much had almost caused a minor mutiny until Wolf had threatened to get Myra involved; Tara felt it was humiliating to have her face painted, unless it was for combat or perhaps some wild dance. But finally she had consented to allow Nina to apply a little eye shadow. Later, when Nadia had shown up and nodded for Alec and Wolf to leave, things had become easier. Nadia and one of her Grisamm colleagues, Mikka, had completely given the girls a makeover, transforming them into two beautiful ladies. The biggest challenge, according to Nadia, was when they had to educate the two girls in table manners.

Alec had noticed the respect all the female crew had for Nadia and her friend Mikka. In fact, Kirra, Zicci, Mohamma and Miska, the other members of the little clique that included Nina and Tara, had complained bitterly when told they wouldn't be allowed to join their friends as Alec's escorts. Alec, feeling rather helpless, had informed them that he really only wanted to bring one girl, but had been advised to bring at least two. He told them that he'd randomly picked the two girls' names out of a hat, so to speak, but that had been a bald-faced lie, and the other girls called him on it, especially Kirra and Zicci. But when Nadia showed up and whispered something to them, their faces brightened and they hurried away. Nadia had bowed her head towards Alec, and left him shaking his own head.

Two of the Grisamm followed closely behind Alec and his girls, dressed in their standard robes, except that these were black and sharply pressed. Normally no servants were allowed to attend events like these, but because of Alec's high position and enormous wealth, an exception had been made for him. The same was true of about a dozen others, all of whom were allowed to bring an entourage.

The function was about to begin, and people were entering through the two main entrances in droves. The majority were arriving by limousines; a few were brought in by private shuttles in space, and could be seen through large crystalline ports in the far wall as they docked alongside. However they arrived, they all wore the latest fashions, with the exception of Alec, the monks, and the various representatives of the Commercial Traders and the Federated Merchants, who wore more conservative garb.

Outside the banquet rooms was a large park with a lake in the middle; birds and tiny feathered dinosaurs flew through the air and sang under a blue sky scattered with fluffy white clouds, the kind of sky that legend claimed arced over the ancient Oman homeworld. It was all artificial, of course, with the apparent exception of the avians; the sky was nothing more than mimetic paint. Soft background music issued from hidden speakers as the guests lined up to greet the host. Hundreds of servants stood along the walls like statues dressed in black, all willing to assist any of the guests in any whim. They had to, on pain of death; they were, to a being, slaves.

The two Key Administrators and their spouses welcomed each of the guests, and next to them stood several VIPs from different corners of the universe: politicians, celebrities, military officers from various polities, Traders and Merchants, and others less recognizable. Behind them loomed several large rooms, stuffed to the rafters with art of all types.

Alec glanced at his wristcomp.

"Stop that," Nina said, as she rapped his arm lightly with her sun-feather. "It doesn't look normal." She smiled toward a couple that was looking in their direction suspiciously, and her eyes silently advised them to go about their business.

Alec frowned as he noticed Nina slipping something glittery into a hidden pocket. "Speaking of looking normal," he muttered, "If you ever do something that stupid again, you'll wind up back with that frog friend of yours. Got me?" Nina smiled and nodded, but Alec could see the thinly-veiled terror in her eyes. He held out his hand, and Nina dropped an adamantine brooch into his hand, muttering something about a small fortune under her breath.

Alec turned to the woman who had just passed them and said, "Excuse me, my lady. Apparently you dropped this." Alec held up the brooch, and the old lady smiled and thanked him. Alec shot Nina a disappointed expression, and he just shook his head in reply.

They passed through the enormous ballroom room into a banquet hall, where four long tables seating perhaps two hundred and fifty people each had been arranged in a large square. In the center of the square were several gourmet chefs preparing, with the help of their assistants, a wide variety of dishes from dozens of worlds.

Alec had bypassed the line of guests being greeted by their hosts, and let out a long breath when he realized he'd managed to avoid their notice. Gesturing one of the many servants over to him, he asked her to escort them to their places at the dinner table, while another servant with several cocktail drinks on a silver tray hovering next to him offered refreshments. Smiling, Alec nodded thanks, then handed Nina and Tara a glass each while taking one for himself. It amused him to watch the girls as the two former pirates looked at the gilt-edged tumblers suspiciously before taking tiny sips of the brew. Both grinned widely, then emptied the contents in one big gulp each. They looked at him, disappointed that their glasses were empty, and he nodded toward the tray. They immediately swapped out their empty tumblers for full ones.

From behind them came a familiar voice; Alec closed his eyes and cursed when recognized it as that of Tobbis, the Key Administrator of the Federated Merchants contingent. Tobbis all but shouted, "Ah, Mr. Horn, there you are! We have been looking all over for you!"

Alec spun around with a broad smile on his face, showing all of his perfect white teeth. He greeted Tobbis and was introduced to the man's wife. She was a beautiful woman of the Asipa species, with long red hair that extended down her back in a carmine mane. She smiled shyly at Alec, who kissed her hand, making her blush.

"I hope your stay with us has been as pleasant for you as it has for me and my colleagues?"

"Why of course, Mr. Tobbis, but soon I must depart."

"Well, that
is
sad news. We were hoping that we might persuade you to purchase citizenship on our new colony world. A person of such esteem as yourself could easily find a very high ranking position in our government."

"Thank you for your offer, sir, but politics has never been my strong suit."

Tobbis smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "So, do you intend to liquidate your accounts with us?"

Alec looked politely baffled. "I had the impression that I could leave my money in my accounts here, and that I would be able to access them anywhere in known space. Or perhaps I was wrong?"

"Of course not," Tobbis said quickly, "you are absolutely right about being able to access your accounts anywhere. That's what makes our system so great."

"I bet," said Alec dryly.

"Oh, before I go and welcome some more of my friends, there is someone I would like for you to meet. As a matter of fact, he also is a citizen of the Nastasturus Federation." Tobbis turned halfway aside, while swinging his arm out in a grand gesture towards the back of a short, stocky uniformed man. He wore a light blue tunic with white trousers and dark boots, the basic uniform of the Nastasturan space navy. "He has a very nice business proposition that might interest you, considering you are in the market of hiring pilots and astronauts to explore the universe," Tobbis explained while the person he was referring to turned around with a drink in his hand, revealing a row of medals and other ornaments arranged on the left side of his chest. "Mr. Horn, allow me to introduce to you a Galactic Fleet Admiral from your own Federation...Lieutenant Admiral Alistair Busch."

Their eyes met—and their glasses of champagne fell to the floor in a twin tinkle of breaking glass. Tobbis looked surprised at both of them, but before he had time to make a comment, Alec grabbed Admiral Busch's hand fast while pumping it like mad. "My, my...I'm most honored to meet one of the famous Galactic Fleet Admirals. My name is Alec Horn, sir, and I can't wait to tell my entire family that I have had such an honor..."

"I'll bet you can't," muttered Admiral Busch, "you little bas..."

Alec cut him off hurriedly. "I hear you're in the market for a fleet investor? Or so my beloved friend Mr. Tobbis said."

"Why, you little..."

"I must say, the Admiral looks most pleasant in his uniform," Alec babbled. "Will you forgive us, Mr. Tobbis, while I get to know one of my Federation´s heroes better?"

"Why of course," Tobbis said graciously. "Later, then, Master Horn."

Alec, who was a head taller than Admiral Busch, grabbed the officer under his arm and walked him over to a quieter area. When they were out of earshot, Busch hissed,

"You little weasel, are you aware that your father's has sent
an entire fleet
looking for you? He and your mother are worried sick about you, and here you are running around like a lost asteroid pretending to be a wealthy little shit from the underground. I ought to lay you over my lap and let you have it with my belt, you no-good cadet from hell!"

"Let me know when you're finished," Alec said dryly.

"
Finished
! Stand at attention, you young whelp, before I tear your arm off and beat you with it! I..." Busch hesitated as two rather large men in black, monkish robes stepped up to them, and stared down at the diminutive admiral with the experienced eyes of hardened warriors. Nina and Tara hovered behind them, looking nervous.

"Are you done, sir?" Alec asked brightly. "Oh, good. I do have an explanation, you know, and I was going to send my parents a coded message as soon as I left this place."

"You need to send one
now
, and so do I. Your Uncle Hadrian is here with his entire fleet group, and he too is worried sick."

"Uncle Alistair..." Alec stopped himself when the older man gave him a chilling glare. "Your pardon, sir. Admiral Busch, please listen to me for just a moment, so I can let you know what's going on. See it as one upper-echelon officer reporting to another, if you will."

"You're not a damned general yet! You have to be sworn in, commissioned, and go back to school for several years, not to mention acquire another ten or twenty years of hardcore experience in the field, before you can use that rank," Admiral Busch growled.

"Except in the case of hostile action or an act of war perpetrated against the Nastasturus Federation or any of its citizens, property or allies. Then my brevet rank would be confirmed, correct?"

Admiral Busch gazed with suspicion at the boy in front of him. He corrected himself: Alec was a man now. Busch knew that Alec's question was a trap. Normally he would have knocked out the person who dared ask him a question like that—questioning his intellect, by Gull—but now he only scowled, eager to hear more. After all, at heart Busch was a simple soldier who, like any other simple soldier, longed for some action, though the young whippersnapper in front of him didn't know that.

Admiral Busch grabbed a new glass of champagne from a tray hovering nearby, and moved slowly toward a wide expanse of viewport. Alec followed, gesturing for Nina, Tara and his guards to remain behind.

"What are you up to?" Busch demanded.

"When the
Bright Star
was captured by pirates, I was taken prisoner along with thousands of others—including my entire cadet squad. I escaped, as I was taught to.
I'm going back to rescue my friends, Admiral." There was a brief silence, and then Alec continued. "I must do this, sir. We're taught never to leave anyone behind..."