Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (59 page)

“Where do you think he is?
My Lord?”

“If I’m not mistaken he’s in this quadrant. The
details are not precise and this transfer monitoring unit does not have precise
locating abilities but it does have a status refresh capability which runs an
organic or robot body checking program. It may give us a better idea of where
he is located. Possibly hiding on Zion,” the Black Priest said feeling elated
that he could soon be rewarded by the Trigeals for capturing a rouge pilot. He
set the program for maximum sensitivity. “Let’s see if we can locate him a
little more clearly,” he said and pushed the activation key.

---------

Peter was coming forward from the galley with a tray
of steaming noodles when he suddenly collapsed. The tray hit the metal floor
with a clattering sound and noodles splashed everywhere. The soggy sound of a
body impacting the deck brought Toormis running across the Bridge and sliding
down the ladder in one stride.

“Peter, Peter!” He called out and quickly knelt beside
him and rolled him over. Cassy and the Administrator scrambled down the ladder
and rushed to his side. Cassy immediately brushed the noodles off his face and
chest.

“Peter’s eyes were not focused and he coughed loudly
and started speaking in a language nobody understood but was slurring the
sounds. He fell silent and closed his eyes with his eyelids moving rapidly.

“Get him to sick bay,” the Administrator said moving
around and grabbing his feet. “Toormis get his shoulders.”

“Yes of course,” Toormis said and they picked him up
and took him down the corridor and into the small medical facility. They laid
him out on an examination table.

Toormis quickly put the monitoring devices on his
wrists and forehead. He looked at the screen on the wall behind the table and read
the readouts. “He’s OK according to what I know. His heart rate is a little
high but all his organs are in the green zone. His mental activity is a worry.
It’s a flat line. I don’t know what it should be but it’s a flat line. That
can’t be good and his eyelids are moving so fast, strange.”

Cassy brushed her hair back as she leaned closer to
Peter. “Peter can you hear me? Peter?” She said and turned to face Toormis with
worry etched across her face. “What’s wrong with him?”

The Administrator moved back and sat on the other
medical table. He just looked at Peter’s rapidly moving eyelids.

Peter saw a dark void and felt nothing. He could not
see or think, he just was, but he knew he wasn’t. Then a bright light flashed
and materialized around him. He found himself in a cabin of a space craft. He
saw a machine with flashing lights and saw two figures dressed in black robes
standing over a machine looking at its screen. One of the figures turned slowly
and raised its head. Peter felt an ice cold chill.

The Black Priest felt a presence above him and looked
up to face it. He concentrated on the space above him and projected a hypnotic
trance into the space. “You want to stay here, you like it here, rest. I will
help you,” the Black Priest thought into the space above him.

Peter went sleepy and felt like resting. He no longer
sensed the cold chill and felt comfortable and wanted to be helped.

“I don’t know you. Who are you?” thought the Black
Priest into the space above him.

“Peter Boland.”

“Where are you now?”

“On a space ship.”

“What is the name of your space ship?”

“Traveller.”

“And where is Traveller now?”

“Near the planet…”

The Administrator jumped from his seat and pushed
Toormis sharply in the chest and he crashed into the wall knocking the wind out
of him. The Administrator grabbed Cassy roughly and drew his blaster and set it
to kill in front of her face. “Now you die! And all of Irrimus with you,”
screamed the Administrator and shoved the muzzle into her mouth and took up the
pressure of the firing lever. Cassy froze with fear and tried to scream but
only a faint gurgling sound came from her throat.

Toormis managed to get to his feet but he couldn’t
stop what he knew was about to happen. He screamed “NO! As he tried to lunge
forward but the Administrator’s eyes locked onto his over Cassy’s head and
glared so dramatically Toormis stopped.

Peter snapped viciously out of the Black Priest’s ship
and back to his head in a flash. He moved his body so fast he ripped the seam
of his coveralls as he punched the Administrator’s arm just behind the wrist
causing it to go numb instantly. The Administrator’s blaster fell clattering to
the floor but he expected such a response and took a step backwards and quickly
raised the other arm which held a mini blaster and quickly covered the three
people in front of him. His right arm was numb and felt heavy, he shook his
wrist and he tried to flex his fingers.

“Just relax and don’t move. The Administrator said
calmly. “I will not hurt you,” he said looking at the pale face of Cassy and
the raging eyes of Toormis. Peter looked at him dispassionately as one would an
insect and would kill him without hesitation when the opportunity presented
itself.

“Peter, who were you with?” The Administrator asked.

“No one, I am here with you.” He replied coldly.

“In your dream Peter who were you with?” The
Administrator asked forcibly.

Peter looked closely at the Administrator. “I was with
two black robed men on a strange ship. They were both looking at a machine.”

“Did this machine have two screens,” the Administrator
asked quickly still holding his mini blaster on them. “The left screen had
yellow squares with flashing symbols and the right screen had names?”

“Yes it did. I saw the name ‘Johe of Irrimus’
highlighted.” Peter said surprised as he recalled the image.

“What did you tell them?”

Peter scratched his head. “I told them I was Peter
Boland and I was on a space ship called Traveller.”

“Did you tell them where we are?” The Administrator
said desperately.

“No I didn’t. You pulled this stunt and if you don’t
put that blaster away. I will become very nervous and do something about you.”
Peter replied and swung his feet off the table.

The Administrator took a small step into the doorway
out of physical striking range and lowered his blaster.

Toormis and Cassy were speechless and Cassy pulled
Toormis’s arm around her shoulders and gripped his arm tightly under her chin.

“Who were they?” Peter asked.

“Assengi!
Black Robbed Priests.
The most evil and secretly motivated organization in the
Confederacy.
They will stop at nothing to achieve their goals and if
they are after you, we have a problem far greater than we did before.” The Administrator
explained.

“Why the gun in my mouth?
Cassy spat viciously at the Administrator with hatred
glowing in her eyes.

“I’m sorry Cassy but for whatever reason Peter
responds to you being in danger. It is Johe protecting you I believe. I just
had to do it, sorry.”

“You could have at least told us you could do
something like this,” Toormis said still holding onto Cassy.

“Who’s Johe of Irrimus?” Peter asked.

“Cassy’s brother,” Toormis answered.

“Oh!” Peter replied, “And what’s that got to do with
me?”

All three of them would not answer that question for
the shock it may cause Peter being told his body belonged to someone else. “We
don’t know Peter,” answered the Administrator.

“Would this Torquay fellow know?” Peter asked.

“I’m sure he would,” the Administrator answered
relieved.

“Well, let’s get back to the Bridge,” Toormis ordered.
“And Peter I would like you to sit in the co pilot’s seat for awhile so we can
keep an eye on you. That is once you’ve changed your uniform, I run a tight ship
and noodle insignia is not recognized on my Bridge.”

Peter looked down his front and smiled along with the
Administrator and Cassy. But Cassy kept her distance from the Administrator,
insisting he go first. The Administrator hesitated, and then handed the mini
blaster to Cassy who snatched it quickly and shoved it in her belt.

---------

“Run the program again
My
lord?” His Priest asked.

“No, it would only train him to be aware of where and
who we are. The Pilot Transfer Machine sometimes acts as a
locational
device and the out of body pilots can be drawn to it and see everything near
it. We will not run it again from this ship,” the Black Priest replied.

“My Lord.
This is your Captain. The trail to the target ship
has set a predictable course. They are obviously taking manoeuvres to avoid
detection but they are unaware of the green trail they leave behind.”

“Very well.
Wake up our Escort Pilots. I want to see their
Commander plus yourself in the stateroom as soon as he gets here,” replied the
Black Priest.

“Yes My Lord.”

A short time later the Confederate Commander of the
Escort Squadron and the Assengi Captain sat with the Black Priest in the ship’s
stateroom. “Commander,” the Black Priest said without any emotion, “we have a
ship on our scanner that we wish to capture. It holds a most precious cargo
which cannot be damaged, a single humanoid life in a life support cylinder. Any
others on board are guilty of treason and have been sentenced to death by the
Imperial Court. Utmost care must be exercised until you have secured the life
support cylinder intact. Then you may give your squadron target practice. I
require a tactical operation to be worked out with the Captain of this vessel
in which my objectives can be realized without failures. Any failures
concerning this operation will bring with it severe penalties.”

The Squadron Commander swallowed hard and exhaled
noisily. “If it is a single ship I don’t see too great a difficulty. What type
of ship is it?”

“A Volen Cargo vessel modified for smuggling
operations equipped with standard ship weaponry I believe. Best of all we have
its ex-captain. He will be only too happy tell you all you need to know about
it. I’ll get him for you and you three can come up with a fail proof plan. I
wish to see your plan for the mission by the time I return. You have two
percent of a time frame,” The Black Priest said and went out of the door and
summonsed his Priest. “Bring the Volen Commander to the stateroom immediately,”
he told them and disappeared into the ship.

The Priest returned with the Volen Commander and
pushed him into the stateroom, closed the door and stood guard.

---------

The Ensign set the controls to auto and went back to check
on his Captain. He expected to find him drunk or passed out but he was not in
the galley area or in the cabins. He went down to the cargo hold and saw him
sitting on a crate looking at the life support cylinder.

The Captain looked up at the Ensign and smiled a
greeting. The Ensign saw that the Captain was quite within himself, the Ensign
didn’t know what to do. He had never seen the Captain like this before.

“Do you know who is in there,” the Captain said
pointing to the life support cylinder.

“No Sir.”

“It the Emperor!” he replied.