But since I couldn’t remember, it must not have been a huge reason.
“Fine,” I said. “But you’re going to have to provide all the extra security when the pervs try and grope your dealers.”
“I want it in writing,” aRj’in added.
“Sure. Standard gang protocol.”
CHAPTER 56
“Hey, there’s a ship out there?” the controller said.
“I just told you there was,” I answered, irritated.
“It’s there,” he confirmed happily.
“Is it military or not?”
“Hey, Xoxis,” he called over his shoulder. “Take a look at this.”
A fat man wearing a girdle walked over to the computer station. I was at the telescopes, tapping the resources of our questionable experts to find out if the Olmarr Republic really did have a warship sitting near Belvaille.
The ship had contacted the city to remind us they were still out there. They demanded the return of their crew we had taken captive. I was now checking on how serious the claim might be.
Xoxis leaned over the screens and looked at the data.
“Is that a warship?” the young controller asked.
“Hasn’t been a warship around here in thirty years at least,” he sniffed.
“Doesn’t mean it isn’t one,” I said.
“It’s… got a gun,” Xoxis said, squinting. “At least one. I’d guess it was a light destroyer.”
“Could it blow up the city?” I asked.
“Blow up the city?” they both asked, alarmed.
I didn’t want to cause any more panic so I backtracked.
“I’m just curious. How powerful are those guns? I mean, is it a cool ship?”
“Oh. It could damage a non-military vessel for sure. Most ships nowadays are kind of a hodgepodge. The guns might not even work. There isn’t a lot of use for them.”
“Right. I read about this,” the controller said. “In the past they could threaten smugglers, but there’s no such thing anymore. Since there’s no empire.”
“Could they pirate other ships?” I asked.
“Pirate? No, those never existed. They were just stories. That’s space out there. It takes weeks to load and unload cargo even in a dock. Imagine trying to do that in zero gravity in a spacesuit,” Xoxis said.
“Okay. I was just curious,” I said, my spirits improved. “Thanks for the help, guys.”
“Uh, Hank. What’s going on with the city? There’s a lot of… disturbances everywhere. My neighborhood doesn’t feel safe.”
“The Kommilaire are on it,” I lied. “Don’t you worry.”
I was being serenaded again by the Royal Wing women from their roof.
I had gotten Valia to retrieve the men from the Olmarr warship who we had stuck on top with the women. I had also given them back their clothes, but not their weapons of course.
“Tell them to shut up,” I said to Valia.
“They’re just singing. I think you should be honored. It’s their way of thanking you.”
“It’s horrible, off-key—whatever. We’daer, I hope you’ve been treated reasonably well so far,” I said to the Systems Configurator from the ship.
He looked rather bad since he couldn’t shave or get his hair or nails trimmed. If Valia had been hosing them down, she wasn’t doing it regularly.
Still, he didn’t have the arrogance of when we first met.
“You will forgive me, sir. I did not realize you were the Hank. You are listed in the Noconeir as one of the architects of the Second Olmarr Republic,” he dropped his head slightly.
Me, an architect. Man, if you live long enough I guess they start running out of ways to describe you.
Though it’s odd, Peush sang this same song for years. Then he got tired of it and tried to kill me with a train. So I wasn’t sure how much faith I put in the Noconeir and Olmarr Republic reverence.
“So, I’ve decided to let you go,” I said.
“What?” Valia exclaimed.
I gave her an icy look.
“Thank you, sir,” We’daer stated. “But we are here to assist our countrymen. We must locate and bring to justice the assassin who took the life of our Vice-Manager.”
“I kind of have a riot going on. I’m letting you go because I can’t really be spending time taking care of you and you’re bound to die sooner or later. I mean, I’ll be honest, you guys look like crap. But if you’re going to stay here, I’ll have to lock you up. That’s the deal.”
He dwelled on that.
“Our ship will take actions, I’m afraid. Our orders are quite clear,” he stated as if he regretted it.
“Yeah, I thought about that. We got this guy here. Really smart. His name is Delovoa—” I started.
“Oh, we know of Delovoa,” he replied instantly.
His men, who had been still and silent up to this point, muttered nervously.
“Really?” I think I was a little hurt that Delovoa’s name seemed to carry more importance than mine. Wasn’t I an architect of a whole empire just a few seconds ago? “Anyway, he controls all the Portals. Literally controls them. Can turn them off and on with a flick of a switch. So if you guys cause any problems, we won’t let your ship portal out. And we won’t let you dock with Belvaille. It will take you something like a hundred thousand years to fly to the next system. So, you know, you’ll die in space.”
I shrugged.
“I mean, how much is one guy’s killer worth? I’m trying to find him, myself. But I’m a little busy right now,” I said.
“We need to replace our Vice-Manager with a new one,” We’daer answered.
“Oh, I’m not negotiating with you,” I explained. “I’m just stating facts. Your choice is naked prison back up there with the Howling Females, starvation in space for you and your crew, or just leave and we all forget this.”
“We will leave,” he said, after a moment’s hesitation. “But I can’t say we won’t return.”
“Well, I hope Belvaille is still here,” I smiled.
I radioed for some of my Kommilaire to escort them to the port where they could take a shuttle back to their ship.
When they were gone, Valia asked me: “does Delovoa really have that much power over the Portals?”
“Oh, I don’t know.”
CHAPTER 57
I stood in the Ank Reserve in my cleanest uniform, hat and all. I even put on a few medals that I had bought as a joke some years ago.
Three Ank sat in front of me looking as expressionless as always. Though maybe my nerves were playing tricks on me because they seemed extra-expressionless.
MTB and Valia were here as well, and I put both of them in skimpy, revealing outfits. I didn’t know if the Ank found Colmarians attractive, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.
This was an important proposal and I needed all the help I could get.
“Greetings,” I said, reading from my cue cards. “I am Hank, as you may know, Supreme Kommilaire of Belvaille and Secretary of City. Um. I am here, on behalf of myself, and my city, and my…” Valia had told me to take out the word “galaxy” but it was still written on the card. It did sound overblown now that I was speaking it for real. “Um, us. To request a loan from the Ank Reserve.”
I motioned to Valia, who turned a display board toward the seated Ank.
“We live in precarious times. The businesses that make Belvaille home are often in open conflict with one another because there are no recognized boundaries or treaties between them. No methods of communication, no oversight, no anything.”
I motioned to MTB, who turned his display board. I had instructed him to smile and he was standing there flashing pretty much every one of his teeth like he was insane.