Shadows of Golstar (24 page)

A tall young woman was standing in the center of the room.
Owens had not anticipated that the Keeper of the Way would be beautiful. The
first thing he noticed, were her intelligent, amber-green eyes coolly
appraising his entrance. She did not smile or frown at his appearance.
  
She voiced no immediate greeting.

Trying not to stare, he took in the rest of her face;
well-shaped nose, generous lips surrounded by a flawless tan complexion. This
was all framed in luxurious auburn hair. He completed his inventory by taking
in her slim athletic shape and her height. Incredibly, she was over a hundred
and eighty centimeters tall. He was not used to seeing a woman of such stature
outside of his home world.

Lastly, he noticed her attire. She wore an ivory,
high-necked, long-sleeved, floor-length dress. It was trimmed in some sort of
fur and had white crystal clasps on the front. Her feet were hidden. He had
stopped just past the threshold and remained silent, waiting for her to speak.

For all her preparations, Sharné had not been prepared
for the reality that was Janus Owens. The images in his dossier did not do him
justice, nor did they convey the quiet assurance he projected. And he was much
larger than she expected. She had carefully read his dossier and knew of his
Loder background, but it had not prepared her for his actual physical presence.
He seemed to radiate a strength and confidence she had never before
encountered. Here was a dangerous man, she thought.

He stood there waiting and wondering if he should say
something. She was beginning to make him nervous and he hoped it didn’t show.
Keeping a cool demeanor was an asset in his line of work. Usually, it was
second nature to him, but now standing before this dazzling woman, he found
that he had difficulty projecting a calm exterior.

Sharné kept her face expressionless as she continued
to inspect him. There was something vaguely familiar about him. His wavy black
hair was trimmed short; his clear blue eyes looked frankly into hers. He had a
broad masculine face with a muscular jaw. He reminded her of a picture of an
ancient Roman gladiator she had once seen in a book from her father’s library.
That must be why he had looked familiar, he matched her childhood imaginings.
She could almost forget he was a representative of Confederated Planets.

There were a number of chairs, couches and low tables
also reminiscent of Victorian design, positioned around the room. It looked to
be the ship’s lounge, Owens surmised. The Keeper of the Way seemed to gather
herself, smiled perfunctorily and said, “Janus Owens of Confederated Planets;
it is good that you have finally arrived. I bid you welcome to Golstar.”

Not the warmest greeting he had ever been given, he
thought, but not unexpected either. He noticed the smile, which had already
vanished, had never reached her eyes. Then, without ceremony, she sat down in a
large upholstered chair and directed Owens to take the chair opposite her. She
asked if he would like some refreshment. Owens politely declined. 

She began without preamble, “Janus Owens, much has
happened since we sent the fateful message that requested your presence. From
that time, we have since observed the repeated attacks upon your ship with both
interest and some mild concern.”

“Yes, the attacks were a bit of a distraction,” he
carefully understated. “I’m afraid in my line work, it’s not uncommon to make
enemies. In this case though, I admit I was a little surprised by both the
manner and magnitude of the assaults.”

She arched one eyebrow delicately, “Indeed… we were dismayed
but not surprised to note Confederated Planets appears to have some difficulty
in maintaining law and order. I would think that protecting its citizenry from
these types of… distractions, would be a high priority.” She said this in a
matter-of-fact manner, but the underlying note of superiority was quite clear.
She went on, “Not that it appears to have mattered in your case, since you were
more than resourceful in countering those attacks without outside aid.”

“Well, it was very fortunate the attackers were
under-prepared. My ship simply outclassed them,” Owens replied mildly, ignoring
the barb.

“You are modest, an unnecessary gesture in my
culture.” She frowned slightly. “In any event, the Grand Patriarch followed
your progress closely and was very pleased to find you were not injured in
either of your encounters. We trust your ship also sustained no permanent
damage.”

Owens felt his patience already beginning to slip. As
blandly as he could manage, he said, “No, I’m happy to say that the ship came
through virtually unscathed, although I can’t say as much for the attackers.”

“Have you identified your assailants?”

“Unfortunately no, they were successful in destroying
any physical evidence of their origins. We were able to get some sensor
readings, but so far they haven’t been very helpful. I still have no idea who
the attackers were or why they were after me, in particular. No one I know has
the resources to mount such attacks, such as they were.”

“That is… unfortunate indeed.”

He noted her tone belied her words. Was that relief he
sensed? His mild impatience was replaced with growing interest.

She continued, “Conversely, it
is
fortunate
their losses have been severe; whoever is behind the attacks might now be
discouraged from continuing their campaign. Perhaps they have given up? The
failure to identify the perpetrators may be of little consequence in the long
run.”

He wondered if she was somehow implying, as a private
investigator, he should have been able to discover their identity. Or perhaps
the relief she seemed to express was only a confirmation of her low opinion of
Confederated Planets. He gave up trying to interpret her meaning and ignoring
her tone, Owens answered honestly, “I’m afraid anyone with the means to mount
two separate attacks from space will not easily be deterred. But, I must say
with the utmost respect, I don’t think they’ll attempt to approach the
quarantine’s borders, let alone follow me into Golstar space.”

“Yes…” she paused at Owens’ unintended irony. “That
would indeed be most foolhardy. But now that you are here, your safety can be
assured.” She paused again, this time a little longer, considering her next
words. “It is good to hear that your ship was undamaged. That will make its
transportation back to Berralton more expedient.”

“So, it is your intention to transport it?” He asked
without thinking.

She replied, almost challengingly, “Yes. Naturally, no
ships other than our own are allowed to operate within Golstar’s boarders. This
ship will act as the conveyance. Perhaps you noticed the
Light Saber’s
external docking apparatus is somewhat different than what is, I believe,
typically used by Confederated Planets?”

Owens thought back on Hec’s comments, “Yes, when I
docked, I did notice that it appeared a little out of the ordinary. It looks to
have an unusual reinforced structure, a rigid rather than flexible
configuration.” Not unlike you, he was beginning to think. “It’s not what we
typically use in Confederated Planets. Normally, we employ a flex-umbilical
with a remotely guided airlock docking collar at its end.”

“We believe it prudent to be prepared for any
contingency.” She looked at him pointedly. “The docking mechanism also serves
as a salvage harness. Your ship is much too large to place in the
Light
Saber’s
shuttle bays. Therefore, as a means to insure your safety, your
ship is now securely attached to the
Light Saber
by our external docking
frame. We will transport your ship back to our capital planet, Berralton.”

“I see,” he said. But he really didn’t see the
purpose. They could have just as easily disabled the Holmes engines and left it
in orbit around one of the uninhabited planets. However, he supposed it was
just a form of control, perhaps to remind him of their power over him.

“I suggest you now signal your artificial intelligence
unit to power down your ship’s propulsion systems. The
Light Saber
will
assume the task of propulsion.” Her tone remained pleasant as she issued this
obvious order.

“Of course,” He kept his own voice neutral. “With your
permission,” he lifted his arm to chest level, displaying a small comp-link
encircling his wrist. He looked at her questioningly. She nodded her assent. He
pressed a small indented button on its side. “
Sherlock Holmes
, this is
Owens. Acknowledge transmission.”

Hec’s voice immediately answered, “Transmission is
acknowledged Owner Owens. Please provide your access code.”

Owens keyed in the proper code on the comp-link’s tiny
keypad.

“The code is verified. What may I do for you, Owner
Owens?”

Owens was pleased to hear Hec’s flawless imitation of
a typical AI’s, ‘Jeeves-the-butler’ voice intonation. “Lockdown the subspace
servo-controls, bleed the capacitors and cycle the reaction drives down into
level-one maintenance, standby mode. The
Light Saber
will provide the
propulsion and ferry us to our destination.” He looked over to the Keeper of
the Way.

“Inform your ship that you will remain on the
Light
Saber
for the duration of the trip to Berralton,” she said.

“Did you get that
Sherlock Holmes
?” Owens asked.
“I will not return to the ship…” he looked again at the Keeper of the Way. She
remained silent. “…for a while,” he finished lamely. Hec confirmed that he
understood and Owens signed off.

“Good, she said. “We only do this to discourage
further incidents.”

“I understand,” he said.

A quiet chiming could be heard coming from the
clear-jeweled bracelet on the Keeper of the Way’s wrist. She said to Owens,
“Please excuse me for a moment, I am being paged by the
Saber’s
captain.” She rose from the chair and went into an adjacent room, closing the
door behind her.

Owens sat and wondered if all the people of Golstar
were all like this Keeper of the Way. If so, he would have to be very careful
and guard every word he uttered. The information the diplomatic corps had
provided covered these types of encounters, but the direct experience was quite
another matter. He had only exchanged a few words with her and already he felt
completely out of his depth.

She was gone only a few minutes. When she reappeared, her
expression had turned grave. She practically marched across the wooden deck.
Stopping before him, she motioned for him to stay seated. Standing, she looked
down at him and the ice in her voice was almost tangible.

 “I have just received some very disturbing
news.”

He wondered at the harshness in her voice. He said,
“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yes, I am sure that you are.” 

That didn’t sound good, he thought.

“Janus Owens, I had believed that we were quite clear
on the conditions we set for your ship’s approach into this system and your own
entry into the
Light Saber
. In fact, we took some pains to make sure
that our instructions were straightforward. Yet I was just now informed that
you have ignored one of those instructions.”

Owens immediately wondered if Hec had tried to scan
the
Light Saber
.

Her eyes were as cold as her voice. “Those
instructions should have been easy for you to comprehend yet… yet you failed to
abide by with one of them. I am deeply troubled by your apparent
transgression.”

Owens kept his face blank. He had no idea of what she
was talking about. He reviewed their instructions in his mind and could not
think of one that he had failed to follow. He fervently hoped that Hec had not
tried to work around any of their directives. “I confess you have me at a loss.
I still believe that I have followed your instructions to the letter.”

“Interesting… and
I
believe that you are
mistaken, seriously mistaken.”

Point and counter point. What was this, some kind of a
game? His patience was starting to fray again. “What exactly is the condition
that you believe I have not followed?”

 She leaned slightly forward, “I am most
disappointed, Janus Owens. It was an uncomplicated request, ‘no electronics on
your person other than a simple ship communicator and wrist-chrono.’”

“I followed that instruction.”

Her voice took on a note of challenge. “Did you?
According to the
Saber’s
captain, it has been determined that you have
indeed violated that request and in doing so, our trust.” She paused, staring
hard into Owens’ eyes, waiting for him to respond.

Owens suppressed an impulse for an angry
response.
 
Instead, he said nothing. He
wondered, was this some sort of test? What was she talking about? He
followed
all of her damned
instructions. He looked back at her steadily without expression. He would say
nothing more until she explained exactly where supposedly, he had failed.

She lingered, letting the strained silence grow. Owens
remained stonily silent. Finally, she spoke. Her voice was raised and
commanding. “Now you will tell me the purpose of the mechanism, other than your
communications device, which has been determined to be on your person and is
registering on our sensors even as I speak.”