Outlaw

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Twenty-five years earlier the contingency of planets known as the "Whole", had sent out a space vessel, the El Dorado. The ship was captained by Ellen Reardon, one of the top ranking officials of the Whole. Captain Reardon had been instrumental in stopping an interplanetary war between Caldous and Rickter - two small supply planets between the Euripides clusters. That coup had raised her from a Captain to a Command Captain. No higher service rank was possible.
When the planets began receiving communication from a planet in the outer ring of Sirius, Ellen Reardon was chosen to fly the mission to the planet they named Dicen, after its discoverer, Paul Dice. Dicen was sending communication that had to be fed to a language Sophist for interpretation. It was unclear why they did not speak one of the dialects for their parsec - but their efforts claimed they had discovered something called the R Factor.
Supposedly the R Factor was the next step in space - time crunching. Ships could now slip out of the reality of time and re-enter at will. This made infinite distances possible for travel. Then the Dicens claimed they had discovered a method of time manipulation that would make actual time obsolete. The Council of the Whole wanted this formula. It would eventually make the known universes as one.
Ellen Reardon's mission was to meet with the Dicens, examine their 'discovery' and decide if it had worth. No scientists were assigned to the mission because the Dicen's had requested ordinary people. How would anyone who could man a vessel like the El Dorado be considered 'ordinary'? But Command picked a crew of eight and sent them toward Dicen.
A year into the journey, Command lost contact with the El Dorado - and later, with the Dicens. Command offered to send another ship - but the communication paths were empty. All they could was speculate as to why the ship and its crew disappeared. Tracers were sent out once every 6 months, but always reported back no sightings of the El Dorado.
After five years, the Command declared Ellen Reardon and her crew Missing in Action and presumed dead. Benefits were paid to survivors and the whole incident seemed to descend into its own black hole.
Dermad McLoughlin was a greedy man. It was a time there was no need for greed. Drawing from the resources of billions of planets, a person could have most anything they wanted. But Dermad McLoughlin wanted it all. If it existed, no matter how trivial or ordinary, or rare and wonderful, Dermad wanted it. He usually got whatever he went after.
No would speculate if R Factor was real - if it had ever existed, but the space cowboy who went after it and got it would be the most powerful living creature in the universes. Dermad was not a soldier or a Command ranker. He was a 'finder' - a space raider who took whatever he could find and if it had no real value, he tweaked things until suddenly it was worth being on the big board. He was magic in that realm.
Space Command had been toying with the idea of sending another ship after the El Dorado, but there were so many other things, concrete things that paid off, that a unit was never put together. Dermed approached SC and put his offer on the table. McLaughlin Enterprises would fund a flight and pay for a ship to be built if Command would give him salvage rights for the trip, meaning he could pick up anything he found along the way. If there was an R Factor, Dermed would team with the Command in sharing the profits.
Command made an agreement with Dermad, more to get him out of their hair than anything else. Let him go on a wild goose chase -
Callie Singer wanted to be part of this trip. She had no military training or space flight training, so she begged her father to wrangle her a position on the Outlaw, the name Dermad had given to the ship his factories were building on the moon.
She knew Dermed. When her aunt Ellen had gone out to space Callie was five and Dermad was seven. Their families belonged to the same social groups and did business together. But this trip would not be made pleasant by riding out with Dermand. Callie hated the needle-nosed, lump of ugly. Whenever their families were to be at the same gathering Callie would get a headache and have to stay home.
Their were accommodations made for Callie as the niece of the famous Ellen Reardon, and Dermad was spoken to by Callie's father, Command General Singer. Whatever was said turned Dermad a sickly yellow and you could smell the sweat from two feet.
The ship was to be the most sleek vessel ever manned by Command troops. In a world of worlds where wonders were harder to find, the volunteer roster for the flight was a dozen times more than would be going. On a September morning a huge crowd swarmed over the moon base, bouncing in their gravity suits and having a good time. The huge Outlaw was a thing of beauty. When it took off the crowd sighed - even though the were inured to excitement over space flight - an everyday commodity.
Long gone were the days of cryo-pods and suspended animation. The slip-stream theory had advanced over the years, and the private builders made space craft so luxurious that they rivaled Vacation Asteroids.
They had been outside gravity less than an hour when Dermend McLaughlin's voice came over the speaker system. "Ladies and gentlemen, I know your captain usually says a few words about this time, but I wanted to give him time to mess with all those technicalities he has to deal with. I'm Derman McLoughlin, for those of you who don't know me. I put this expedition together and if you have any problems or questions, why you just come on to me. I'm always here for my peeps."
Callie Singer grimaced. Peeps! The old fool. That was a piece of slang from years before space travel had advanced to the point where it was now. Some icon of the entertainment business had said it and it had caught on - but it sounded stupid coming from this fumbled up goat. It was going to be a long trip. Callie would just try to avoid Dermand - and the Outlaw was big enough to make that avoidance possible. Gag!
Callie had not wanted to be just an extra body on the flight. Her father had managed to have her trained for the job of records "officer". It didn't take a military person to do the work and it would be several hours a day that were occupied with something useful. A records officer was the person who collated all hard-copy data, everything from receipts for stores along the way to officially recorded paperwork.
Jarek Payton was the Captain on this flight. He was the son of an Antherian diplomat and a Terran business man. So handsome women stopped in the corridors to stare at him as he passed, Jarek was a popular young man. Callie singer was an attractive young woman without feminine wiles or silliness, which Jarek appreciated, and he was happy to have her along on the voyage.
She never said a word to anyone, but Callie found the handsome Captain quite attractive. They had met at some functions and even danced together once at a Ball on Triopia. Callie was far too sensible to allow herself such things as 'crushes' and other silliness that often affected the young. Yet, a thought of Jarek usually brought about a thumping of the heart.
Outlaw had been sending binary messages to Dicen since Ellen Reardon began her fatal journey. There had never been a peep from the planet. Communications had been bumped up to four times a day, in the hope they could get a response instead of flying in blind. The planet was still orbiting its star, that was confirmed by the scientists at the Bainer Telescope, which was 1000 x ten to the base power of the Hubble.
Callie walked through the ship thinking about her famous aunt, wondering what Ellen would think of this luxury behemoth. It was like walking the corridors of a Terran Mall. People hustled about, auto-robots scooted about underfoot, carrying items from here to there. There were rec rooms and reading rooms, as well as entertainment centers where you could watch a soccer game between PTers
and Outer Outbanians.
They weren't out more than 8 hours before Callie happened on Dermand McLaughlin. The toad was humping eagerly along when he caught sight of the young girl as she turned down another corridor. "Callie, my dear, wait for me...", he croaked, out of breath.
Callie had seen Dermad coming and had hastily turned into another corridor, but the little toad had caught her. "Callie, how are you liking the trip so far. Finding everything? Need anything? Doing all right with your records job?. blah...blah....."
Refusing to answer each question hurled at her when it seemed there would be no end to it, Callie just nodded with a limp Mona Lisa smile and scoped her surroundings for an escape route. Dermad continued on for several more insipid questions that he did not give her time to answer - then homed in on his original intent. "Now Callie, dear, your dear father asked me to keep an eye on you during this dangerous travail, so I want you to think of me as.... as Uncle Dermand, and you come to me whenever you have a concern." With that, the odious man reached out and pinched Callie's cheek.
Just as she brushed his fingers away like noxious blowflies, Jarek came out of a door up the hall and headed toward Dermad and Callie. The handsome Captain elbowed Dermad aside and took hold of Callie's arm, "There you are, Callie. Do you have time now to go over those records and forms with me?"
Not to be ignored, Dermand prized the young captain's hands off Callie's arm and replaced it with his own humid flesh. "Now, Jerek, boy - you captains have more to do than you can handle. I'll take responsibility for Callie here. In fact I was about to discuss with her that she could bring her records and so forth to me for my signature." A set of yellow horse teeth protruded out Dermand's mouth.
Jarek would not be manipulated, but he played Dermad's unctuous game. "Nonsense, sir. I told Callie's father I would host her on this voyage - which I am very glad to do. Besides, Mr. McLaughlin, all of Callie's work is under temporary service command, and it is her duty to bring it all directly to me. Now, if you'll excuse us...."
Dermand puffed up like a blow fish and blustered. "Now, Jerek - I did finance this mission and in essence am in command. Callie will report to me."
"Sir, as long as this ship flies under the flag of the Whole, business will be treated with command directives.
Jarek straightened into his military stance and looked down at Dermad with eyes that had frozen into immovable objects. When Jerek put his hand on the butt of his lazer wand, Derek, swallowed and muttered an expletive as he hunched away.
"Well, Callie - did you feel like a yo-yo there for a minute?" Callie relaxed and laughed. "Captain Payton, you certainly put him in his place. I had hoped to avoid the man for the whole voyage."
Jarek Payton's eyes were now a playful green and they smiled at Callie, "Jarek - you call me Jarek and I will call you Callie. I only said those things about command to keep the gentleman off your path. I gathered when I looked at you, trapped like a fly in a web, that you were not fond of him. And I have to admit I loathe the so and so."
Callie was taken aback with surprise at the Captain's frankness, but was relieved he would cloak her somewhat from McLaughlin. "Thank you...Jerek, and t hank you for your honesty. I don't have tolerance when I deal with the man. We more or less grew up together - and he has been a poisonous frog from childhood."
Arms clasped behind his back, military-style, Jarek said, "Didn't we dance together once...
at the Arthurian Governor's Ball?"
Callie blushed and answered, "Once there and once at the Talobian Embassy on Croalac."
"Ah, I remember now. I was a senior cadet and you were the beautiful, mysterious writer."
Now Callie turned beet red, "Nothing mysterious, Jarek ... just a girl without a specific goal in life. I do appreciate your accepting my presence on this mission."
"What fool would refuse to travel the heavens with a beautiful young woman?"
Callie groaned, "Please, you are making me wonder if your reputation has a thread of truth to it."
Laughing, Jerek leaned toward Callie and whispered, "Never believe gossip, Callie. I am as pure of action as a ... a... "
"Space bender?" Callie offered.
"Madam, you wound me," Jerek retorted.
They had made their way to Jerek's office and he invited Callie inside to go over the mechanics of the mission . . . or so he said.
Jerek Payton, Captain of the Command ship Outlaw, like most handsome young men, had quite a reputation as a ladies man. Callie wondered, as she brushed past him into the lush office he occupied, how much of that was deserved.
Jerek motioned Callie to a plush chair in a formal arrangement that served as Jerek's unofficial seating. He ordered tea and settled back in his chair. "So, Callie, why is Dermand McLaughlin so intense about you?"
The question threw her. She had never know he was, and said so to Jerek. "Well, he sure is right now. Came to me first thing and tried to convince me you were under his charge at the orders of your father. Your father and I communicate every day and he never once mentioned McLaughlin in that capacity."
"I really don't know, Jerek. I find him a fool and a real pain in the aft section..."
The green-eyed captain laughed. "Well, all your father said to me was he would appreciate it if I watched out for you. Which is my pleasure as an undertaking." He winked at Callie who burst out a bright red.
Callie's tone was huffy as she replied, "I am an adult - I do not need any man taking care of me. I'll perform my duties and carry my share of the burdens... on my own."
Jerek suppressed a grin. Callie was laying out the boundaries and he wanted to be sure when he crossed them, it was with her consent. He had remembered the pretty girl - and now she had grown into a most lovely woman. In spite of his reputation, Jerek knew a quality woman when he met one, and Callie was real quality. Not the sort of woman you danced around the moon and dropped.
After she left Jerek's office, Callie went to her cabin to unpack and get ready for dinner. She had accepted Jerek's invitation to sit at the Captain's table, realizing it was an honor accorded because of her Aunt Ellen and her relatives in the government.
Nevertheless - Callie picked her favorite hunter-green dress, the one with neckline so daring her father had forbidden her to wear it anywhere his friends might see. Almost invisible ballet slippers and a jade necklace completed her preparations. As she looked in the glass, fussing with her hair, Callie tried to decide if she was even pretty. She knew she wasn't beautiful and it had never bothered her before.
Tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, Callie walked toward the corridor. She was no good with the fashionably late thing - so it was five minutes till seven when she approached the concierge. The man was very formal - until he looked for her name and found it at the Captain's table, then he oozed charm and did everything but lie down and let Callie walk on him to the table.
As she was escorted across the domed dining room Callie was surprised to find Jerek already seated. Next to him was a blonde who leaned in very close to whisper.
A lump lodged itself in Callie's throat. Jerek hadn't said anything specific, but she had dared to hope she would be his companion for dinner. But this luxurious, buxom young woman was the kind of woman Callie could see Derek with.
Jarek arose from his chair and walked two steps to greet her. "You look wonderful tonight, Callie. The color of that dress suits you."
Blushing, Callie mumbled a thank you he couldn't possibly have heard over the noise of the room. Turning to the blonde Jerek said, "I would like you to meet my dinner companion." Callie felt sick and would have run from the room except for her perfect manners. "Lacie Bauer, this is Callie, the young woman you have to give up your seat for."
Lacie flounced off toward the bar, ignoring Callie's outstretched hand. Flustered, she said, "I thought she was your dinner companion."
With crinkled eyes and a thoroughly masculine grin Jarek said, "You must be kidding. I asked you earlier to join me for dinner. Did you think I meant just to sit at the Captain's table?"
Red as a beet and completely flustered, Callie merely nodded.
"Woman, I thought you would give a little more credit than that. Lacie is a looker, but she's also a leech when it comes to men. I guess she thought if she sat there long enough I would consider her a special guest."
People began to wander in, being shown to tables by crew in the whitest of uniforms. Jerek introduced Callie to everyone as they arrived - and made it very clear that Callie was his date for the evening. The last arrival curdled Callie's stomach. Across the room came Dermand McLaughlin, who marched himself to a seat and took possession of the space.
Callie glanced at Jerek, who was trying very hard to be a gentleman. Dermand looked up at Jerek, "Now, Jerek, let's have no more nonsense. It was very rude of you not to invite me to sit at the Captain's Table. So, I arranged to have this spot every night, as befits the owner of the vessel."
Great, Callie thought to herself. It put him on her right. It was going to be one long night.
The menu for the Captain's table that night was lobster. Chefs were able to maintain fresh lobster, by having them live in gigantic tubs in the kitchen area. A far cry from the rations of years earlier. The waiters brought vichyssoise in individual Tradorian crystal tureens.
Dermand accepted his soup with a less than enthusiasm. Said nothing. When the waiter was busy with the next setting he bellowed, "Boy, boy... come here."
The young Sarnellian fumbled, trying to set down the soup and quieten Dermand. Callie had been startled by the sudden yell and dropped her spoon into her vichyssoise, splattering the lovely green dress. Jarek spoke firmly, "Dermand, I'm sure the waiter heard you. Could you lower your voice please." As he was saying this he took his napkin, wetted it from his drinking glass and began dabbing at Callie's dress.
Soup had splashed on bodice of her gown and on the nubile flesh left exposed. "Callie, I'm sorry. Whatever it takes to get this clean, we will do." His hands with their well-formed fingers ran the napkin over the exposed area of her breasts.
"Here. . . Jarek, it's okay, I can do that." Reaching for the cloth Callie, she felt Jarek pull it out of her reach.
Meanwhile, Dermad was loudly discussing his meal with the hapless waiter. Dermand said he got sick every time he ate lobster, painting out a description of his reactions to a table full of people whose own appetites were dwindling. Jarek walked over and took the man's arm. "Mr. McLaughlin, may I have a private word with you, please."
Diners all sat, mesmerized by this drama. They all knew of Dermad McLaughlin, but were shocked by his blatant bad manners. Callie took up her spoon and began to eat her soup, which prompted the other guests to continue their meal.
Jarek and Dermand returned a few minutes later, Jarek with jaw set and Dermand with fury flushing his skin. The rest of the meal went without further incident and chatter filled the dining room. Next the diners filed into the all-purpose room, where a band was set up.
Jarek kept hold of Callie's hand and when the music started he pulled her toward the dance area. Their heights matched perfectly. Callie's head was shoulder-high to Jerek and they meshed like a seasoned dance couple. "Are you okay..." Jarek whispered.
"I'm fine and I'm really embarrassed to have made such a big splash." She giggled at her pun and felt Jerek laughing along.
"Nonsense, the cleaning crew reports that removal of the offending soup was very . . . pleasantly carried out."
Callie felt like she was dancing on clouds. This gorgeous captain was obviously flirting with her and she felt like there was a shine to the whole world.
Until another bellow from Derman caused her to trip over the hem of her dress. Jarek caught her and set her aright, whispered he would back in a minute and stroke toward the bar, where Dermand was in a heated argument with the bartender.
Dermand continued his tirade, until Jarek grabbed the neck of his jacket and jerked him around to face the captain. "You better have a good explanation for this, McLaughlin."
Puffing up his chest, Dermand said, "I ordered Montac brandy and this barbarian refused to serve it to me."
"Sir, I served him the one drink maximum - as ordered." The bartender was Venutian and glared at Dermand with rage.
Turning to Dermand again, Jarak replied, "He is right. You know that stuff is so powerful it can kill a man. All licensed drinking establishments are mandated to observe the one drink limit. You own Carl an apology."
"Apology!" Dermand blustered. "I own this damn ship and if I want more than one drink, by god I'll have it!" He blew his fetid breath into Jarek's face.
"You may have supplied funds for the building of the Outlaw, but she is a licensed and military-consigned vessel. That means you follow the rules and regulations aboard this vessel. Shall I have you escorted to your cabin - or to the brig for refusal to observe our rules?"
That took a bit of thunder out of the old man. He was looking past the captain toward the edge of the dance floor, where Callie had apparently collapsed. Jarek ran to her and knelt. She had a pulse, but it was spiky, and her flesh was clammy. The doctor was called at once and Jerek held Callie against him protectively.
The doctor insisted she be taken to the infirmary and Jerek picked her up in one swoop, heading
Doctor Ved met Jarek and his unconscious armful at the door to the infirmary. He had a diagnostics chip loaded and immediately injected it into her vein. Callie was white as Gorvian snow, pale, translucent - and Jarek held his breath, wanting no harm to come to this charming woman.
Dermand McLoughlin chuffed into the infirmary minutes behind the others and began yammering at Dr. Zad. "Here now, if this creature has a communicable disease you must put her in quarantine. Why wasn't the council more careful in their screening. I warn you, if I get sick, it's your hide Jarek!"
Dr. Ved examined his holo-screen. "Mr. McLaughlin, do be quiet. This young lady has a pretty fair size amount of Tanric in her system. I hardly think that is going to be catching."
The room was as silent as space. Jarek drew in a breath and said, "That's impossible. Tanric has been outlawed for five years. There is no supply left on any planet in the known universes. It's the death penalty to even carry it."
"Granted, Captain Porter. I haven't seen a speck of it in longer than that. But the findings of the D.M.M. are irrefutable. This young lady has somehow ingested a dose and is very lucky that I am a collector of medicinals. I am injecting her with an antidote, that we will hope is not without enough material to help."
"Well, then - that's nothing that concerns me. Good evening Dr. Ved, Captain." The waddling little freak left the lab. Ved and Jarek looked at each other and shook their heads. "Odious man, that," Dr. Ved offered. Then returned his attentions to Callie.
Apparently the anti-toxin was working, as her vitals were within an acceptable margin and some color had begun to seep back into her cheeks.
Leaning over Callie, Jarek brushed a strand of auburn hair from her forehead. A slight quiver at the touch and Callie regained consciousness. She was too weak to lift her head from the pillow, but managed to whisper a request as to what was happening with her.
Dr. Ved took her right hand, as Jarek seemed determined not to let go of her left. "Callie, you're fine now. I don't believe in glossing things over for my patients, so I must tell you that I found significant amounts of Tanric in your bloodstream."
When Callie licked her lips and could not find her voice Jarek spooned a bit of ice cube between her pallid lips. "Don't try to talk. Do you know what Tantric is, Callie. . . just nod."
There was horror in the woman's rich brown eyes as she indicated she knew what Tantric was and what its potency was... "How...." she managed to gargle.
"We don't know, Callie. Both Dr. Ved and I only know of its existence and toxicity - and that it is the automatic death penalty to even carry it. But don't worry, we will tear this ship apart until we find an answer. You just close those pretty eyes and get some rest.
"Try not to worry," Dr. Ved said. "I'm sure Captain Jarek will post a guard here tonight..." He gave Jarek a quizzical stare and Jarek added, "There will be someone here every minute. Go to sleep, Callie."
Callie awakened in the night, feeling stiff and sore. She turned from her right side over to her left and saw a figure sitting in the over-stuffed chair near the window. It wasn't until he stirred restively, turning his face toward the light, that Callie realized it was Jarek. She watched him for long minutes before her eyes drifted shut again.
The doctor awakened her at hour 6, checking her vitals and adjusting various dials and gauges. Jarek awoke with a start when the generator kicked in, bathing the room in light. "How is she?" He asked.
"Good morning, Captain. Things are slowly working their way around. I had hoped that Callie might have received an ancient form and that its power would have weakened, but it appears this venom was quite toxic."
"This is just crazy. There isn't a planet anywhere that would harbor a Tantric. It would be too risky and they would be vulnerable also. Not to mention the fact that of how dangerous it would be legally. There have been no incidents for many years - it just doesn't make sense."
Callie tried to croak and found her throat was painfully dry. The men were so engrossed in their conversation that they had ignored her. Callie tugged on Dr. Ved's sleeve. Seeing this, Jarek rushed over to the bed and took her hand, looking into her eyes, taking inventory.
Dr. Ved excused himself, leaving them alone. Jarek gently brushed Callie's pale cheek and smiled at her. "Quite a first night out, wasn't it?"
"Wha... " Callie tried.
"Hush now, rest. Your throat needs to rest as well as the rest of your muscles. Callie, we don't know what happened...not in specific terms anyway. My crew has searched the ship up and down and found nothing resembling Tantric."
"Of course, you fool!"
Callie and Jarek both jumped at the sound of the bellow behind them. Dermand flounced over to the bed and peered at Callie as if she were a specimen in a laboratory. "She can't spit that stuff on us, can she?"
In a flash Jarek had his hands around Derman's fleshy throat. "You damned, miserable little troll, if you say one more word or come into this room again, I swear I will have you ousted with the garbage."
Dermand was turning an unhealthy shade of purple and Callie tried to call for help. Dr. Ved rushed into the room and after sizing up the situation, took a syringe and jabbed it deep into Dermand's jiggly buttocks. Then he looked at Jarek without sympathy and the captain took his hands away, letting Dermand collapse to the floor full-weight.
"Captain Porter, what in the hell did you think you were doing? Do you know the trouble you could be in when he wakes up?"
Jarek stood over Dermand, fists curled and told Ved what Dermand had said.
"My god, has that man not one shred of humanity? Well, Jarek, don't worry yourself. The serum I gave him will knock him out for the rest of the day. It has a memory inhibiter encoded with the tranquilizer, so it will be be very little he will remember." Dr. Ved laughed as he stepped over the supine lump.3

Jarek stayed with Callie as much as he could, and there was always a very large armed guard at the door when his captains duties called him away. The ship was searched again and again - personal luggage was searched.
If a Tantric was on board, they would know it. Tantrics carried their venom in a bladder between their breastbone. They spewed poison on anything that irked them. But just by looking you could tell no one had an exogenous organ. Since the discovery of Tanteria in the universe of Panchi, there had been a hue and cry to wipe the planet out.
Tantrics were very humanoid, so it was like having a cobra in human form. Because of their aggressive and war-like nature, Tantrics had not been welcome anywhere in the universes. The Sovereign Council, which arbitrated on matters involving the known universes was considering a petition to destroy Tantria, when some sort of virus hit the planet and wiped out every known Tantric. Rumors ran that the CIAU perhaps 'helped' in the outbreak, but no one was sure - and it didn't matter, the poisonous buggers were eradicated and space was safe once again.
It took Callie a few days to recover. She was fortunate to survive. If she had had bleeding ulcers or lesions in her gastro system, she would have surely died. It certainly cost her appetite. She was growing thin and wan. But that would be a natural reaction to having been poisoned in a situation where she had felt at ease. Dr. Ved would give her vitamin shots daily. And that took real courage. One couldn't tell what was in a vial.
Rumors and speculations ran throughout the ship. Callie's father radioed the ship and wanted it to head back to Earth at once. Callie argued with the Commander, until he finally gave in. He told Jarek that when they stopped at Way Station Kellen, a troop of guards would board and accompany them the rest of the way. No one argued with that.
Way Stations were a luxury Callie's Aunt Ellen hadn't had. With advances in space travel entrepreneurs came up with the idea of a place to stop to eat, and rest during long journeys. A cross between McDonald's and a rest area. Way Station Kellen had been built and was owned by Marcie Kellen, heiress to an obscenely excessive amount of money. Marcie was not at all impressed by her own wealth. She was bored and the Way Station was her toy. Of course, she had all the funds in the worlds to spend and Kellen was a spa rivaling any rich person's pleasure palace.
Here, you could find gambling and gaming, bounty hunters and bounty. Marcie was a feminist, so she cracked down on prostitution. Women were not available at her way stations. If couples met and wanted to explore mutually satisfying avenues, that was fine. But Marcie Kellen was hell on pimps and perpetrators.
Those disregarding Marcie's rules were taken care of by Louie - a Mingle saurpod with a voracious appetite and the desire to play with his food before he ate.
Dr. Ved was worried about Callie's appetite and spoke with Jarek about solutions. She seemed to a hysterical paralysis that just would not let her swallow. Dr. Ved had finally decided he would give her IVs until they found a solution.
Callie attempted to do her job, but was so weak that finally Jerak insisted on giving the job to one of his crew members. Callie felt so poorly that she did not object. Moving from chair to bed seemed like a gargantuan effort.
On the third day of Callie's being back in her cabin, crew members came and told her that Captain Peyton had ordered them to relocate her to his cabin. Without another word they went to packing folding and putting her possessions in large tubs.
"Now, wait just one minute! Captain Peyton never said anything to me about changing cabins and certainly NOT to his own!" She began pulling things out of boxes and ordering the crew to leave. She had worked herself into a frenzy before Jarek arrived.
"Adams, you moron, I said to keep the crew on alert until I had spoken with the young lady."
"Captain Peyton," Callie began, trying to puff herself up, but by making the effort made herself woozy. "I deeply resent..."
Jarek picked her up in his arms and carried toward his cabin. "I don't want to hear another thing from you about this. I want you safe, where I can keep my eye on you."
"And only your eye, Captain Peyton..." Callie said in a tiny breathy voice.
Jarek laughed and said "We'll see. After all, you won't be sick forever."
Even though a captains cabin was the most commodious private quarters on the ship, it was not large enough to make Callie feel comfortable with the arrangements. Jarek had laid her on the bed as if she were a delicate crystal trinket. Pulling a duvet over her he said, “Now, you stay put. I’ll be back as soon as my work is done. There is a guard right outside this door, so you have nothing to worry about.”
“There was a guard right outside my own door, why wasn’t that good enough?” Callie fought to stay awake for the answer, but her exhaustion overcame her.
Jarek whispered, “Because it wasn’t good enough for a captain’s lady…”
Callie slept soundly for several hours, with Jarek peeking in now and again. When she finally came fully awake she stifled a scream. On the blanket, making its way toward her was a Caldrion Spider. It was easily recognizable by its wattles, which held its poison. One fang in her skin and she was dead.
Time passed like syrup in the warm sun. The spider wasn’t coming in a direct path, but always a forward propulsion. Callie tried to lie still, rigid and barely breathing. If she tried to jump up or scream, she knew she was too weak and it would agitate the spider into biting.
She knew also that Jarek might pop through the door at any moment, perhaps startling the Caldrion into injecting her. She lay like that for endless moments before she heard the door whisper open. Oh, please, don’t let it bite Jarek she prayed silently.
There was a hissing, as of escaping steam and Callie panicked again, she didn’t know these things hissed. Seconds later Jarek came within her range of vision, holding a tank of Co2. Another crew member in a hazard suit grabbed the spider and threw it into a glass beaker. The blast of frigid air had frozen the spider immediately and thoroughly.
Jarek went to the bed and sat down close to Callie. They looked at each other and then Jarek put his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re all right…” he said in a voice husky with passion.
Callie delighted in his embrace, wanting to stay there forever. “Jarek… how…?”
Jarek squeezed her tighter and said, “I just don’t know. Those things live in very remote deserts on Caldrion. They are shy and avoid people at all cost.”
“Except when they turn up on blankets out of nowhere. You were prepared - how did you know?”
Jarek pulled back and smiled into her face, “There are surveillance cameras in here - that’s part of why I moved you down here.”
Callie said, “Cameras! You spy on women in your bed?”
“No, Callie, of course not… they are for me, so someone can keep watch if we are in a tight situation and I need to sleep.”
“Oh,” Callie said, feeling foolish enough to think the Captain had that much interest in her.
Dermad learned about the spider later that day and came rushing to Callie’s side, expressing his deep concern about this sweet lass. Callie nearly gagged. “Do you have any idea who did this?” he asked.
The phone next to the bed rang and Jarek answered, then handed the receiver to Callie. It was her father. When she asked him how he even knew, he was reluctant to answer, but finally told Callie it had been Dermand.
After she hung up from her father, Callie turned and glared at Dermand, “You no right to call my father, that was my place.”
“Well, child, of course it was, but I did promise to keep you under my wing, and this was serious.”
“Dermand, don’t call me child. You’re only a few years older than I am.”
The fidgety man knew he had overstepped, but he wouldn’t admit it to Callie or Jarek. “Well, fuss and bother, we need to put our thinking caps on and figure out what is going on here.”
It was warm in the room - the heat high due to Callie’s situation. Dermand removed his outer coat and plonked himself down in a chair. Callie noticed that two buttons of his shirt were undone - from straining against those extra pounds. Her heart leaped. Through the gap she could see a vivid scar on Dermond’s chest. A scar that might result from having a Tantric bladder removed!!
She didn’t want to alert Dermand to the fact and kept quiet as they all tried to map out a way to catch whoever was guilty of trying to harm Callie.
Dermand opened his mouth and said, “Callie, it may have something to do with your inheritance.”
Totally taken aback, Callie said, “What inheritance?”
Pleased he had information that she didn’t, Dermand began to act as if he was the hero of the day. “So, extra guards . . . “
“Wait a minute, Dermand,” Callie yelled, “what inheritance are you talking about?”
“Oh, my, apparently your father never told you. Anyway, as sole heir to your Aunt Ellen’s estate, you will receive monetary gain from the R factor.”
Jarek had begun pacing about. Callie looked to him for support, but his mind was elsewhere.
Callie demanded to make a call. Dermand and Jarek both said they thought is was a bad idea.
After hearing the story from her father, Callie realized what it could mean to her safety. She knew Ellen’s will and estate were tied up, but she had never wondered about it beyond that. It seems that Callie was a child of four when her aunt sailed the El Dorado toward her destination. She had left a will, naming Callie heir of all her worldly possessions. And her not-so-earthly as well, it seemed.
If Dicen proved to have R factor as they said, by space salvage rights, Callie would receive rights by default. It was tricky since Ellen had disappeared so completely, but a Universal Tribunal had been working for years on the details.
Callie was exhausted and wanted to speak with Jarek alone - to tell him about the scar on Dermand.
Everything faded into gray and she was sound asleep.
When she awakened, Jarek was leaning over her. “Oh, Jarek, thank goodness. I think I know who the provider of the poison is.”
Jarek was silent, just gazing into Callie’s face. She looked at him in puzzlement. “It’s .. I… Jarek, it’s Dermand. I saw a scar on his chest.”
She waited to hear Jarek’s answer. Finally he opened his mouth and an
Ilsic pit viper writhed past his lips, sinuously coiling toward Callie’s face.
At the same moment the cabin door burst open and Dermand dove to cover Callie with his lumpy form while a squad of Military in hazard suits grabbed the snake and Derek. He was strong and a fierce fighter, but they had come prepared with heavy psychotropic drug, laced with enough trank to stun even old Ernie.
Callie would never get over the horror. She had been so sure it was Dermand. Dermand on the other hand was wallowing in glory. Man of the hour, he had saved Callie from sure death.
When she had rested enough to speak lucidly she asked Dermand about the scar she had seen. He explained that he had been born as a conjoined twin who died fairly soon after birth. The scar was from the surgery to remove the other twin.
Callie remembered there had been something unspoken about the boy. But what about Jarek?
Jarek, it turned out, was a Tantric. He had been surgically altered on a planet where a group of incompetent doctors had set up business. A Tantric was poisonous itself that all Jarek had to do was swallow his horrors and spit them up at the right time. Callie shuddered.
“How did you manage to get here just in time?” Callie asked.
Dermand chuckled, “You remember those cameras? I have been watching him for days, trying to see any unusual behavior. We learned that an altered Tantric had been roaming around, trying to build up an army of any evil type of thing he could find. If Tantrics could get a hold of R factor, they could populate hundreds of asteroids and planets. They need very little air, no food or water for months - they could hide out anywhere.”
Dermad told her that the ship was returning to Earth. Her father wanted to send another expedition, but this time with crew that had been x-rayed and given MRIs, and a dozen other tests.
How strange - another aborted attempt to reach Dicen. What was the planet like? It would be years before she knew.4

5

6


Long gone were the days of cryo-pods and suspended animation. The slip-stream theory had advanced over the years, and the private builders made space craft so luxurious that they rivaled Vacation Asteroids.
They had been outside gravity less than an hour when Dermend McLaughlin's voice came over the speaker system. 'Ladies and gentlemen, I know your captain usually says a few words about this time, but I wanted to give him time to mess with all those technicalities he has to deal with. I'm Dermand McLoughlin, for those of you who don't know me. I put this expedition together and if you have any problems or questions, why you just come on to me. I'm always here for my peeps.'
Callie Singer grimaced. Peeps! The old fool. That was a piece of slang from years before space travel had advanced to the point where it was now. Some icon of the entertainment business had said it and it had caught on - but it sounded stupid coming from this fumbled up goat. It was going to be a long trip. Callie would just try to avoid Dermand - and the Outlaw was big enough to make that avoidance possible. Gag!7

Callie had not wanted to be just an extra body on the flight. Her father had managed to have her trained for the job of records 'officer'. It didn't take a military person to do the work and it would be several hours a day that were occupied with something useful. A records officer was the person who collated all hard-copy data, everything from receipts for stores along the way to officially recorded paperwork.
Jarek Payton was the Captain on this flight. He was the son of an Antherian diplomat and a terran business man. So handsome women stopped in the corridors to stare at him as he passed, Jarek was a popular young man. Callie singer was an attractive young woman without feminine wiles or silliness, which Jarek appreciated, and he was happy to have her along on the voyage.
She never said a word to anyone, but Callie found the handsome Captain quite attractive. They had met at some functions and even danced together once at a Ball on Triopia. Callie was far too sensible to allow herself such things as 'crushes' and other silliness that often affected the young. Yet, a thought of Jarek usually brought about a thumping of the heart.
By Sisterwolf
© 2004 Sisterwolf (All rights reserved) 8


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