"Why do these enemies threaten your clan? And how can you stop this from happening," asks Jerry.
"It is a private matter, Captain. I'm sure you understand."
"By the way, it will be necessary for me to stop at Sink on the way to Tyokh. I have business in both places."
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Jerry listens to Hteleitoirl, trying to understand the man.
"If I may impose, could I ask something of you? We are ... new ... to this business. I am having to learn as I go, in order to keep my friends and crew alive. I have been studying military tactics. Would it be too much of an imposition to discuss some things with you?"
"The learning software is certainly comprehensive but ... well, it lacks emotion."
Hteleitoirl nods, a human gesture he must have learned while on travels outside the Hierate. "Commanding a starship isn't much like commanding troops on the ground, but some of the lessons should be transferable. Show me what you have studied so far."
A day or two later, the marine Afariy' approaches Byron and Steph when they are eating the cramped galley. "You are in dangerous company," he says. "The Aslan passenger. Do you know who he is? I do not know his clan, but I know he is...hmmm... what you would call a prince. An important leader in his clan. But he is alone among the humans. No one so important would be without many of his brothers... if he had them."
Poke.
Jerry continues to meet with Hteleitoirl. The Aslan's concept of leadership is alien to Jerry. In his family, people sought leadership positions so they did not have to suffer the same hardships and dangers as the people they directed. And sacrifice ... that would be an alien concept to his family. Still, part of his motivation for this adventure was to be different from his family.
Steph looks up at Afariy, "We know he's royalty or high in the military. I can tell by the way he acts. I don't want to get in the middle of a clan war, but we have been hired to return him. Do you have any guidance on dealing with him or any other Aslan we come across who may be looking for him? I want to make sure we are safe while we do this job."
Jerry continues to meet with Hteleitoirl. The Aslan's concept of leadership is alien to Jerry. In his family, people sought leadership positions so they did not have to suffer the same hardships and dangers as the people they directed. And sacrifice ... that would be an alien concept to his family. Still, part of his motivation for this adventure was to be different from his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steph looks up at Afariy, "We know he's royalty or high in the military. I can tell by the way he acts. I don't want to get in the middle of a clan war, but we have been hired to return him. Do you have any guidance on dealing with him or any other Aslan we come across who may be looking for him? I want to make sure we are safe while we do this job."
"Aslan prize honor and territory above everything else. He wouldn't be out here if he had territory. That means he is ihatei, a second son, hungry for land. Having no territory, he will prize honor above all things. Treat him with honor and he will not thank you, for it is his due."
"But we are not so different from you on some things. A man traveling alone, whether human or aslan, desires companionship. Friends."
"You say you do not wish to join a clan war. You might have done that when you accepted this job. If that's true then we are very definitely not safe."
"You will not pry his secrets from him by force. But he might share all with friends. An aslan could never become friends with a clan noble. There are too many issues of status. But outsiders? Ship's officers? They can be companions to a prince."
Jerry continues his nightly visits and discussions with Hteleitoirl. The former diplomat finds the discussions useful - putting some real world substance on the theory that his program can easily provide. He never had much contact with Aslan ... he was far too junior in the diplomatic corps. And his childhood had been filled with rants from his parents and other relatives about how the Aslan had robbed Drinax ... and their families, more importantly ... of their rightful place.
"Thank you Afariy. That's very helpful information. I'll share with the officers. Hopefully this will help us avoid any issues with our guest."
At the next opportunity, she shares what she learned with the Officers. At some point she goes to speak with Hteleitoirl, "How are you accommodations? Do you need anything else you require? We're following the route you suggested, is there anything particular we need to keep an eye out for on the journey? I've had some experience with enemies so have some of the other officers. They make life "difficult" to say the least."
"I don't know who our opposition will be," says the aslan. "Only that there is certain to be some. They will be looking for any ship that seems to be hastening to Tyokh, so we must take care not to appear too different from the rest of the tramp traffic coming spinward from the Borderland Cluster. If we can, in such a vessel."
"Tell me, Stephanie Allison, what combat experience has a female such as yourself undergone? I know that it is not unusual in your species. It would be unthinkable for an aslan female to engage in warfare."
Steph grabs some tea for both of them and takes a seat. "I grew up on Asim. I was supposed to be a farmer, but I didn't like that plan so I took to the stars. During my early years I lost a ship, and later I was injured forced to retired early. You need a deal brokered or a way through the red tape of a planet, I'm your girl. I've made an enemy or two along the way in my life, and I can use heavy weapons well enough, but I haven't needed to use that skill for a while. What about yourself? You are clearly a very dangerous male. I can guess you've seen a great deal of combat during your life."
"I have much experience of battle," he says, unhelpfully.
A few days go by in J-Space. Tell me more about what each of you are up to.
Ray sparring to work off her extra energy, or stalking the corridors impatiently. In the evenings she leads a game of cards or two, liberally sharing her liquor stockpile.
Daneel spends a good amount of time familiarizing himself with the robot's capabilities. He tweaks the settings to try and improve its performance and thinks about ways it might be improved.
Daneel enjoys games and gambling, so he happily takes part in Ray's card games.
Steph shrugs makes some more small talk and leaves their guest on his own.
She'll spend time reviewing possible courses for their flight, and keeping Ray busy working on hand to hand with her. She's terrible at it, and Ray usually wins.
Byron runs daily exercise and strategy sessions in the hold with the marines to coordinate against or for an attack.
The robot is competent at both shipboard cleaning and moderate galley duty (it can bring you hot coffee or a buttered roll, but it's no cook). It does have an internal hotplate that can cook pre-prepared meals.
It can indeed talk, has a camera and can manipulate light tools. It can't be used as a weapon nor does it have a remote control.
Nemesis drops out of J-Space approximately 1 million kilometers from the smaller of two gas giants at Ergo. A single far trader is fueling at the time. Its IFF reports it as SS Seskahalen.
No other ships appear on your sensors anywhere in the Ergo system.
"We settling in to fuel?" Ray asks, kicking her boots up on a nearby console. Pointing at the far trader she remarks, quite unhelpfully, "Who're those dudes?"
Jerry looks over. "We need fuel, and it is free here. Let's head in."
After what he hopes is a dramatic pause, Jerry continues. "Pirates are rumored to use this system. From here, we can't tell whether that ship is a pirate, bait or simply another free trader. If everyone agrees, we should prepare to fuel but keep the weapons hot and the marines ready for action."
"How does that sound to you?"
"Roger that, Jerr-Bear!"
Ray hops into her gunner's seat and preps the weapons, just in case.
Weapons hot, Nemesis glides toward Axolotl, the sepia-and-teal colored gas giant. Colossal electrical storms thunder through its polar regions, but the ten-thousand kilometer wide temperate bands are relatively steady.
"Hey there," says a communications from Seskahalen. "We don't see a lot of other traffic out here. You passing through or stopping at Ergo?"
Steph navigates into the gas giant, she give the Captain a glance to see what their answer should be if any.
"Sounds OK to me, Captain. Good for everyone to shake off jump boredom."
When the other ship hails, Daneel throws a magnified image of it up onto the main display. "Hello, Seskahalen. Just fueling up...for now anyway. But I can't imagine there's anything on Ergo that would make a trading stop worthwhile." He looks over his readouts to make sure everything is in order. "Don't mind us. We'll keep our distance."
Byron is with the marines suited up in case something interesting happens.
Jerry returns to his cabin to don his armor. Before he goes there, though, he stops at the cabin occupied by Hteleitoirl. After politely announcing his presence, he waits for the Alfar to respond.
Once Hteleitoirl does, Jerry will inform him of their arrival in the Ergo system.
"There is what appears to be a far trader fuelling at the gas giant. Should we expect trouble? We are preparing in case the ship is actually a lure used by pirates. Our marines are prepared in case it becomes necessary. Our mission is to get you safely to Tyokh so, unless you have some armor, I would suggest staying in your quarters but being prepared to defend yourself."
When the other ship hails, Daneel throws a magnified image of it up onto the main display. "Hello, Seskahalen. Just fueling up...for now anyway. But I can't imagine there's anything on Ergo that would make a trading stop worthwhile." He looks over his readouts to make sure everything is in order. "Don't mind us. We'll keep our distance."
The ship does appear to be what it claims - a tramp far trader plying the less-well-trodden spacelanes.
"Roger that," says the voice from Seskahalen. "Ergo's not bad. In fact, they're often very eager to please. There isn't much trade, but there's also not very much competition. Not a bad place to pick up raw materials or to sell tech. Anyway, if you have any mail bound up the Cluster, we'll take it. Are you heading up-Cluster or to Tech-World?"
Byron is with the marines suited up in case something interesting happens.
Bored with shipboard life so far, the three marines eagerly suit up and man their stations.
"There is what appears to be a far trader fuelling at the gas giant. Should we expect trouble? We are preparing in case the ship is actually a lure used by pirates. Our marines are prepared in case it becomes necessary. Our mission is to get you safely to Tyokh so, unless you have some armor, I would suggest staying in your quarters but being prepared to defend yourself."
Hteleitoirl grins at Jerry and flexes his razor-sharp claws. "And give up the chance to punish those who pursue me? I'd rather tear out their entrails! But if there is no violence, I will remain quiet and hidden. I doubt a far trader could catch this ship, much less harm it," he says, revealing a bit more knowledge about Nemesis than the average person would be able to gather. "But they could as easily be a picket ship sent to alert actual warships of my coming. Or they could be, as you say, bait for pirates. Or they could just be traders."
Daneel responds over the comms, "Captain's got something to deliver to Drinax, so I guess we're headed spinward. Don't hold me to that, though. The Captain is prone to...whims, I guess you'd call them." After a moment, he adds, "No mail here. Thanks, though."
Jerry returns to the bridge, clad in his armor and carrying the officer's sword. He listens to the exchange between Daneel and the Seskahalen. He never thought that he would be described as whimsical although, he supposes, it could be worse.
To his companions, Jerry says, "Let's get on with fuelling. Take the ship in but be prepared to abort."
The voice from Seskahalen says "Okay. Good journey. Watch out for those Cats!"
Jerry looks up at the reference to Cats.
"Daneel, ask them to explain that caution. Has there been piracy in the system? Or, something else?"
Jerry's words stop Daneel as he is reaching to cut the comms. Instead, he asks, "Cats? Have the Aslan been causing trouble?"
Seskahalen's voice laughs. "You fellas must be new to the ass-end of space. The Aslan are always causing trouble. They're always looking to conquer territory or start fights to show who's the biggest and baddest. And they have ten ships for every one the Imperium has in this Sector. One day, the whole Outrim Void's gonna belong to them unless the Imperium gets off its fat, lazy ass and does something about it. But I guess that ain't never gonna happen. And it's not like anyone else is going to do something about it."
Steph turns to her station to try to pilot the ship to begin the refueling. "Thanks for the information. We'll keep an eye out."
Jerry cuts into the conversation. "Thanks for the warning, Seskahalen. We will keep it in mind. Safe travels for you, too."
He cuts the ship-to-ship communication, then speaks to his companions. "Let's make like a trader, maybe a courier. Bring her in to the gas giant, re-fuel and then ship out. But keep watch for pirates."
The eight hundred mile-an-hour air currents of Axolotl prove difficult for Nemesis, which is built primarily for high-speed maneuvering in vacuum. It takes ten teeth-rattling hours to refine enough hydrocarbons to fully refuel the jump tanks and another five to transit outbound to a safe distance beyond the 100-diameter mark.
You are now ready to jump or to head to Ergo. Jerry, remember that Hteleitoirl wanted to visit Sink, which is within the ship's two-parsec jump ranger. Other targets might be Hilfer, Paal and Byrni.
"Way to keep it steady, Steph," Ray complains, looking a little sick. "Ugh."
"Let's indulge our passenger. Plot a jump to Sink, please," asks Jerry.
Like a shark slipping beneath the waves, Nemesis dips out of the material universe and dives into its own pocket universe of Jump Space, enclosed in a sheathe of helium and hydrogen for the next week. As the ship makes the transition to J-Space, you feel the electric tingle of the charged lanthanum hull plating. For several minutes an odd prickly sensation makes your hairs stand up from your skin.
You have another week to engage Hteleitoirl and learn more about him (or not). Another week to work on your personal goals and get up to hijinks.
"Well, that was lame. Nothing to shoot, nothing to do." Ray laments, leaning back in her chair. "Though, I guess that's good. Bullets fly, people die." She sighs. "Well? Anyone still got something to gamble away in a game of cards? Or am I playing solitaire?"
Ray saunters off to play cards -- wither without wagers -- with whoever she can wrangle into a game.
"I'm game for a rematch." He turns to the Aslan, "What about you, Hteleitoirl?" He pronounces the name slowly, but confidently, "Have any good Aslan card games you can teach us?"
Other than playing cards with Ray, Daneel spends his time working on the ship, fiddling with the robot, and training with Steph and Misty.
Jerry continues to study tactics, particularly his visits with Hteleitoirl every ship's day.
Steph tries to make sure Hteleitoril is comfortable, and has opportunities to chat if he wishes. She realizes that they don't have much in common, but she'll still try.
When not doing that she spends time working on hand to hand with Ray. She keeps the ship doc busy with her bruises, and scrapes from the practice.
Hteleitoirl starts to shake his head at Daneel's invitation, but seems to think better of it. "We play many games," he says. "I like Eftiawayal. It is a little like Chess, but with more pieces and rules. I have not often played cards, but I would like to learn. It is a game of matching patterns, is it not?"
"Well, pull up a chair, and settle in," Ray says with a grin, shuffling the cards. "Listen up..."
Steph shakes her head, and lets the others play the card game. She's got a few books on her computer to read. She does keep an eye on the play, and waits to see how long it will take Ray to take all of Hteleitoril's money or if he'll catch on quickly.