Galactic Vigilante (Vigilante Series 3) (32 page)

“Interesting.”

Chai felt puzzlement at such inefficiency. Though the Human leader’s abundance of facial and body hair made him passable in Spelidon company, still, the creature lacked a tail and the short facial whiskers had no ability to form expression language, unlike his own Whiskers of Distinction.

“Your civil
archive database says the family’s sole survivor was one Matthew Raven’s-Wing Dragoneaux. The young Human is recorded as being in Elios spaceport when the slavers attacked. Were there no relatives who could offer shelter in return for farm labor?”

The planetary governor
looked away to fix on the ground tuber storage silo that had holes and blown in debris. “Your interest in the tragedy of the genome harvester attack is appreciated by me. And by our entire human community. But no Anarchate official responded years ago to our call for help. Why are you here now?”

Interesting how this Human leader had avoided answering his question. Well, Chai was a Spelidon and the niceties of tactical
social moves were well-known to him and his species members. “I am here on assignment from Sector 14 Intelligence. As you may have heard from the galactic tachnet, this Human survivor recently attacked an orbital Commerce Station in CC1939 system, within the Omega Centauri star cluster of Norma Arm.” He paused, wondering if this Human and his world had heard of other attacks beyond the publicly revealed one. “He used an alien warship. Attacks that interfere with the internal affairs of a planet violate Rule 1 of the Anarchate. He also attacked a responding battleglobe. Which violates Rule 4. We are trying to find him.”

Governor Metzenbaum turned his full attention on Chai, ignoring the cold wind that buffeted them both. “We do not know where he is. The last record we have of him is when he accepted labor work on a star freighter at the age of sixteen. Since then we’ve heard he became a personal Protector, worked at the Omega Casino and then became a Vigilante for hire. Vigilante is a legal career, is it not?”

“It is.” Chai enjoyed the brisk weather, thanks to his native body fur and a thermosuit he’d bought before leaving Yorkel’s moon base. But there seemed to be much more to this Human governor than showed on the surface. “Do you keep track of the careers of every Thuringia native who leaves your world?”

The male blinked, much the way a Spelidon master of tactics might blink. “Only those humans associated with the tragedy of the genome slaver attack. As you may have noticed, our citizens pooled their platinum Standards and erected a memorial to the 47 people who were taken. It is part of our community schooling lessons. And we are better . . . prepared now to defend ourselves against a future attack.”

Chai turned away from the Human, heading for the hoverjet. His sensitive ears told him the male followed close behind. “So I have seen from the two armed corvettes that you keep in polar and equatorial orbit. A sensible precaution.”

“An expensive one,” the Human governor said as they stopped to enter the automated transport. “If your Anarchate had established its moon base earlier, perhaps a slaver raid would not have happened.”

Chai flared his whiskers in the sign of Arrogant Bemusement. There would be no more slaver attacks on this colony world precisely because the local base commander had ordered slaver ships to stay away. But it seemed this Human did not understand the purpose of the Anarchate.

“Governor Metzenbaum,” he said as they both sat on bench seats,
and the governor told the hoverjet AI to return to Elios. “It is the duty of every colony world of any species to defend itself from resource pirates or slaver raids. It is a rule of interstellar natural selection. If you cannot defend yourself, you will become victims of such predators. If you do defend yourself, you demonstrate your right to survive and expand your colony’s population. Surely you are familiar with the biological rules of natural selection?”

“I am familiar
with natural selection,” said Metzenbaum, his black eyes fixing on Chai. “We had hoped the Anarchate military forces would protect us as we grew our economy and acquired the funds to pay for such self-protection.”

“Why would the Anarchate offer protection to every colony world in the galaxy?” Chai asked, feeling bewildered. “While our Combat Command forces are large and deadly, they cannot do protective patrols of every occupied star system. The Compendium of Species says there are 12,231 space-going alien species in this galaxy and nearby star clusters. Our battleglobes ensure the survival of established worlds and make certain no outside force interferes with the internal affairs of any world. You run this world as you see fit. My Spelidon brothers run their colony worlds as they choose. Is this not equitable?”

The Human sighed audibly. Its mouth odor was nauseous, but Chai had smelled the pheromones emitted by Yorkel and other Brokeet aliens. They were truly repellant. “It does sound equitable, Commander Chai. Do you require further assistance concerning human affairs? Or data on the Dragoneaux family?”

He lifted his tail to his left shoulder and fixed his whiskers in the sign of Knowledge Attained. “
Yes. And no. I require the civil archive records of every person and family who are included in your 47 captives. And no, your personal assistance is no longer required. I will inform you of any further assistance that may become necessary.”

“They will be provided to you. And . . . my fellow humans do appreciate the protective presence of your moon base. Though we do wonder why there are dozens of battleglobes cruising through this system. Can you clarify that for me?”

Chai liked this Human. It had some inkling of how to turn cooperation into a counter-attack. Perhaps its species was worthy of surviving on their 27 colony worlds. “Those are matters managed by Combat Command of Sector 14. You could visit your moon and make inquiry of Sector Captain Yorkel. I understand he is the naval official in charge of the battleglobes now in this system.”

The fur streaks above the Human’s eyes relaxed and its facial muscles moved into an expression that denoted amusement, according to the primer on Humans that he had vidstudied. “Thank you for that suggestion, Commander Chai. However, this is the harvest season for our community. I have my own farm to make harvest on, as do the rest of the two million humans living on Thuringia. You are welcome to engage in labor of the sort that Mr. Dragoneaux’s family engaged in. If you wish
to volunteer.”

Nicely done
rejoinder, he thought. “Thank you for the suggestion, governor Metzenbaum. But the Anarchate has first claim on my off-duty time.”

“Will you share any report with my office? Before you leave?” asked the bulky Human as they both stood to exit the hoverjet.

Chai saw the planet’s admin building through the hoverjet’s natural light portal. Why was it called the White House? Its stone walls seemed beige to red in color. And the tall columns that supported an overhanging roof seemed dangerous in known earthquake country. Ah well, these Humans were not the only species that practiced social eccentricities. “After I make my report to Sector Captain Yorkel, I will release those parts of the report that do not compromise Anarchate security.”

“Thank you,” murmured the Human in passable Belizel as they both exited the hoverjet.

“Simple courtesy,” Chai counter replied, enjoying the Human’s primitive efforts at social intrigue. “Until we meet again.”

The Human leader made no further response, instead walking up the broad stretch of
brown stone stairs that led to the White House entrance and its various admin offices.

Chai turned and headed for the spaceport office he had co-opted from a Melikark Conglomerate merchant. Every Combat Command member was under orders to stomp on the tender extremities of any member of
that conglomerate. The Council of Sixteen had made it known that further changes to the standard bondServant contract were not welcome. Even when proposed by a Council member. Of course the Melikark council member had dissented. Politely. But it was outnumbered fifteen to one. Not to mention the vulnerability of its shipyards, Commerce Stations and admin localities to future attacks by resource raiders.

Yorkel studied the hysterical report of the
Courier captain who had entered the Vela binary system that lay 5,700 light years from Thuringia. It was disturbing to hear that the Human renegade had attacked once more in a place not predicted by Chai and Sector Intelligence. Even more upsetting was the loss of 62 battleglobes and the entire planet four of the system. There was no vidimage record of the battle since the naval base did not consider itself to be a battleglobe arriving in a new system. And all data archives were either vaporized, irradiated to uselessness, or yet to be found in the millions of drifting fragments that had once been the Sector 14 Naval Base. The only good news was the signal he’d received from the High Captain in charge of the twenty-four battleglobes that were in Translation travel to join him in Thuringia system. They’d left the Vela supergiant and yellow dwarf binary system days before the Human’s attack. But the Human’s beacon record and taunting message made it clear he intended more attacks.

“
Nik to-phan,” he called to his Loglan receptionist. “Place a tachlink call to Commander Chai, on Thuringia. I wish him to respond immediately, via live tachlink.”

“Complying, Sector Captain,” said the raspy voice of the amphibian, who sounded as if he needed a new immersion in salt water.

Yorkel touched to standby the action panels in his Captain’s Booth, leaned back against his stool, and waited for the holo of Chai to appear before him. The Human’s destruction of their academy home in Owl M97 cluster had been terrible. His attack on the naval base demanded a response aimed at causing this Dragoneaux creature to react emotionally. Before him a holo took shape.

“You called for my presence, ally Yorkel?”

He noticed the Spelidon’s whiskers were arranged in the pattern that meant Studious Concern. Perhaps from his studies of the Human’s history on the planet. Or perhaps for other reasons. No matter. The two of them must take actions to disturb yonder nest of Humans, while not interfering in the planet’s internal affairs. “Thank you, ally Chai. Regard this tachcall message from a Courier ship captain who recently arrived in the Vela binary system.” He tapped panel the holding the tachcall message. “You will note that planet four, location of the Sector 14 Naval Base, is now a black hole. And every Anarchate battleglobe, Courier and supply ship that used to be present in the system is now gone. Vaporized or reduced to metal fragments. And frozen body parts.”

The Spelidon’s long tail thumped the floor on which he stood, while his whiskers moved to Anger Aroused mode. “Incredible! This Human grows more dangerous by the Belizel week. We have to find and destroy him!”

“Agreed.” Yorkel tapped on a wall flatscreen with an image from Elios spaceport town. “But we must also send him a signal that his effort to outlaw cloneslavery is opposed by the Anarchate. By you and me. By every official of our culture.” He highlighted the Memorial Pillar that occupied a plaza before a Human admin building with the name White House. “See to the destruction of this Memorial Pillar, with notice to the Human governor that their former resident Matthew Dragoneaux is declared an enemy of the Anarchate.”

Commander Chai’s black whiskers stiffened in the sign of Dismayed Worry. “I will comply with your command, Sector Captain. But be aware the destruction of the pillar will greatly upset the local Humans. Their culture exhibits a reverence
for the 47 captives that borders on theology.”

Yorkel
understood the danger of theology unleashed. But they had to send a signal to this Human that his crusade was firmly opposed by the Anarchate. And thereby make it more likely the Human would attack the Sector 14 Intelligence headquarters near the Cloud of Warning nebula. Where he and his battleglobe fleet would be in place, once the new battleglobes arrived. The Translation travel time from Vela binary to the Cloud of Warning was nearly the same as for a trip from Thuringia system to the nebula. Plus it would be several more days before the battleglobe reinforcements arrived. Well, perhaps the Human would take longer to arrive at the system.

“Ally Chai, we will depart this star system in my fleet once
the battleglobe reinforcements arrive. Our objective will be to arrive in your CC93721 system and establish a layered defense, with a trap of genome slaver bait to cause the Human to make rescue efforts of the cloneslave captives.” Yorkel wished his office held other Brokeet so their mutual pheromones could reinforce their dedication to a deadly challenge. “See to the pillar’s destruction and the broadcast of the event on the galactic tachnet, but make clear only this renegade Human is to blame, because of the Commerce Station attack in Omega Centauri cluster. We do not want his species fellows thinking of him as a leader or theological inspiration.”

The black hair that covered Chai’s body flared up, then settled in a sign of determination. That was confirmed by the lifting of the pointed snout of his Spelidon ally, and the Whiskers of Distinction posture of Ally Supported. “We Spelidon are accomplished users of social emotions, ally Yorkel. While the local Humans will be greatly upset by the pillar loss, I will ensure they blame their fellow Human the Vigilante for its loss. With a hint that once he is captured by Anarchate forces, they might be allowed to rebuild it. Agreed?”

Yorkel did like the slyness of Chai. Of course any captain of a battleglobe had learned basic social emotion manipulation at the academy. With a crew of 400 aboard a battleglobe, you had to use such methods to distract and yet motivate the crew. “Agreed, Commander Chai. Will you send a copy of your galactic tachnet broadcast to the attention of High Commander Brrzeet? I suspect our actions here, and the news we are returning to his system with a force of forty battleglobes, will be welcome news.”