Different Paths (21 page)

“And this is for you.” Iaido handed Talia a small
silver box. The look of surprise on her face was unmistakable. “Don’t read
anything into it; this is simply for your protection.”

Talia cocked her head to the side before opening
the box. Inside was a black pistol with a very slender frame. “I…I don’t know
what to say.”

“Thank you comes to mind.”

She flashed him a crooked grin. “Thank you.”

Iaido shrugged. “It’s a Rapier X-10. It has less
recoil than my Graver Mk7 that you used in Underground New Atlanta which should
help your accuracy and it packs a terrific punch for a small weapon.” Handing
her a shoulder holster to wear under her jacket, he added. “You stick with me.
We have several errands to run. We will meet back here at 1900 hours local
time. Keep your wits about you and watch your backs.”

As the companions disembarked from the Nemesis,
Xerxes was the first to exit and moved up beside the worker Mantodeas. When
standing next to the other bugs, it was obvious how large and intimidating
Xerxes must be; the smaller bugs bowed at the onset of the meeting. Xerxes
chatted to them for a brief moment before the workers rushed off to make the
repairs. Jay waited for the large Mantodea before they headed off into the
depths of Haven. 

Since this was Talia’s first time visiting Haven,
Iaido gave her the grand tour. As they moved through the crowded thoroughfares
he began to describe the space station.

“Of course, the primary population of Haven is
human but there is a large contingent of Sylvans and Mantodeas. I am not sure
why the elves or bugs want to live here but the humans are those that don’t
like the rules of the Coalition or the Confederacy.”

Talia felt overwhelmed at the amount of people
living on such a small starport. The more she thought about the fact, the more
the walls felt like they were closing in on her. As she forced herself to focus
on Iaido’s voice, she felt the walls slowly fade backwards.

“Even since the cease fire, several colonies have
broken away from the Coalition. They haven’t joined the Confederacy yet…but as
the two major governments become increasingly controlling, more will leave and
once again we Terrans will be at war with ourselves. It’s inevitable.”

“But why?”

Iaido shrugged. “It is the curse of mankind. To be
civilized means a governing body, which means controls, which means some
liberties must be sacrificed, which means someone will feel oppressed, which
means that one day…war. It is known as human nature.”

As Iaido fell silent, Talia once again felt the
proximity of the mass of people. The passageway which they were currently
traveling must’ve been a major thoroughfare since it was so crowded she feared
that if she tripped, she wouldn’t even fall to the ground but would be carried
away with the mass of bodies. She kept getting jostled around as she tried to
keep pace with the dark form of Iaido. That’s when she realized that she had
lost him.

Stopping quickly, Talia spun around in place
frantically looking for the bounty hunter but all she saw was a mass of bodies.
Almost all were human and judging from their clothes, simple working class men
and women going about their daily lives. At first she thought it would be easy
to pick out Iaido’s dark clothes and shaved head from the workers but the more
she looked around the less sure she became. That’s when she noticed a small
group of ragged men dressed in mis-matched pieces of body armor and clothes
standing near one wall just watching her. Two hands grabbed her shoulders;
Talia shrieked and spun around.

Grim faced Iaido said, “You need to keep up. Haven
is a dangerous place.”

Talia couldn’t articulate the relief she felt at
the closeness of the bounty hunter but she couldn’t shake the sense that they
were being watched. Turning back to where she had seen the ragged men, she was
shocked to see that they were no longer there. Looking back at her escort she
said, “There were some men over there…”

Iaido nodded. Gently grabbing her arm, he guided
her back down the thoroughfare. “I know. We’ve had a tail since we left the
Nemesis.”

“A what?”

“A tail. Its slang for someone following you.”

Talia thought about it for a second before
responding. “I get it. A tail, like the prehensile appendage on a marsupial.
That’s an interesting analogy. You Terrans are an inventive lot.”

“You have no idea. I am still surprised by my
people daily.” Iaido guided her off the main thoroughfare and they ducked onto
a side passageway. “They are inventive but also greedy. I’m sure there is a
bounty on our head. We need to get to a safer area of the station.”

Talia asked, “Where are we going?”

“I have an errand to run.” Iaido held up the
scroll. “My Sensei asked me to deliver this to a man named Ishmael. Somehow he
knew I would be coming here.”

“He sounds like a wise man. I would like to meet
him one day.”

“He’s dead.”

“How did he die?”

“I killed him.”

“Oh Iaido, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It’s okay. I am striving to make my peace with it.
I am saddened by his loss and somehow feel slightly empty. Its not how it
happened, it was combat, people die. No, the one thing that bothers me is why
it happened.”

“What do you mean?”asked Talia.

“Why? Why would my Sensei invite me to perform but
instead challenge me to a duel?”

“I take it, that behavior was out of character for
him.”

“To say the least.”

“Then, the answer is simple; either he was forced
to act or he chose to act in such a manner.”

Iaido stopped in his tracks so quickly, that Talia
took several steps before realizing. Turning back to him, she didn’t expect to
see a grin on his face but there it was so she asked, “What?”

“You’re right. There are only two reasons and if
so, then that gives me a place to start. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Talia said as they entered the
core of the station and it was her turn to stop suddenly. 

Since Haven was converted from an old Coalition
starbase, the core rotated. Having a rotating core was one of the easiest and
most cost efficient means to generate gravity. The open area had been converted
into a garden with plants from all over the known galaxy. There were hundreds
of farm crops from Earth but there were also the rare moon ferns from Sylvanis
which towered over fifty feet. Every variety of plant was chosen for two
reasons, hardiness and usefulness. The need for the farm crops and fruit trees
was obvious; they supplemented the fresh produce available on the stations.
Other plants, like the moon fern helped with the oxygen production and
reduction of carbon dioxide. The side effect was that the few corridors which
ran through the core of the station offered some of the most beautiful sights
available on the station.

As Talia looked down or up at the slowly spinning
garden, she felt a bit queasy and snapped her eyes back to the walkway and
steadied herself with the handrail.

Iaido grinned. “Now you understand why this
corridor is empty. It seems that few can walk through here without feeling the
effects of vertigo.”

Every time Talia lifted here gaze from the
walkway, she felt her stomach flip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this would affect
me this way.”

Iaido gently grabbed her arm. “Close your eyes.”

She resisted for a moment.

“Trust me. Close your eyes. We need to move. Our
tail will figure out we came this way any moment and it would be best if we are
gone before they arrive.”

Talia nodded and followed the gentle pressure on
her arm and they moved through the core of the station. She knew almost
immediately when they entered the main area of the station due to the different
sounds. As they came to an abrupt stop, she felt the tension in Iaido’s grip
for a split second before he removed his hand. Turning to where she knew he
stood she asked, “May I open my eyes yet?”

“Sure, but you might not like what you see.”

Talia stifled a scream as she opened her eyes and
discovered that they were surrounded by five Mantodeas and three Terrans, all
with heavy blasters leveled at their chest. The humans were dressed in black
combat fatigues, neatly pressed and unadorned of any rank insignias. However,
all eight wore a red bandolier across their shoulders from left to right with
the emblem of a red ‘V’ inside a red circle prominently displayed.

Iaido slowly raised his hands and said, “Don’t
make any sudden moves and follow all of their commands. We are not in any
danger, these are the Haven Wardens. It seems that we are to have an audience
with the Vetter.”

“The who?” Talia asked.

“Leonard Vetter, the man who runs Haven.”

“What does he want with us?”

“That is the question of the night.”

They followed the Wardens through the winding
corridors of Haven. With the Wardens leading the way, they made record time
transitioning the whole of the station until they reached the very uppermost
level of Haven. The Wardens stopped at the doorway and gestured with their
blasters.

The two stepped through the door and was greeted
with a spectacular sight. The room was large; oval shaped and full of the
necessary electronic equipment needed to run a station the size of Haven but
that wasn’t what caught their attention. The roof of the room was transparent which
revealed the entire solar system. It was breathtaking.

After a moment, they wrenched their eyes away from
the heavens to see that they were being watched by the lone person on the
bridge; with a single clap of his hands, the roof shifted slowly to opaque and
the lights in the room came back on to reveal their host, Leonard Vetter.

He was obviously human, stocky but not fat with a
strong square jaw line and slightly graying hair and the classic five o’clock
shadow. His smile seemed genuine when he said, “Welcome…welcome. Come in…come
in.”

Talia glanced at Iaido and tried to guess what he
was thinking but she was unable to glean one iota of information from his face.
But as he started to move forward, she watched him scan the area looking for
threats. She copied his movements but didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
There were only the three of them and only one door. Therefore, no threats.

Iaido took several steps into the room and stopped
about five paces away from their host. Keeping his hands away from his weapons
he said, “Greetings Master Vetter. It is an honor to finally meet you.”

“Iaido Achilles Spartan and Talia Stargleam,
welcome to Haven.”

Talia remembered her manners and curtsied but
remained silent.

“You may be wondering why I asked you to join me.”

Iaido said, “The question had crossed my mind.”

“It seems that you two have made some enemies back
on Earth.”

Vetter moved over to a nearby console and punched
a few buttons. The vid-displays popped up with a WANTED poster bearing the
caption, Dead or Alive. Iaido’s image and statics were on it with the reward of
one million credits. The poster also had listed as a known accomplice Talia
Stargleam with the warning: ‘BEWARE EXPERT SHARPSHOOTER’.

Iaido casually shifted his stance. “I hope you
don’t intend on trying to collect on that bounty because if any of the gun
turrets in this room open up, you will be dead before they are fully deployed.”

Vetter looked shocked for a second before he
regained his control and shook his head. “No. Not at all. I brought you here to
warn you and offer my assistance. Anything that pisses off the Coalition this
much is a bonus for me.”

Iaido relaxed slightly and Talia let out a breath
that she didn’t even realize she was holding until that moment.

Vetter continued. “I’ve had my Wardens block the
full scale broadcast of this poster but we can’t be sure that it hasn’t gotten
out to the general public. And you realize that if someone tries to claim the
bounty, we will not be able to stop them?”

Iaido nodded his head. “I understand. Even though
you are not interested in the bounty, you cannot jeopardize your trade
agreements with Earth over this incident. Correct?”

Vetter grinned. “It’s such a pleasure doing
business with a true professional. If you get through this alive, come see me.
I’ll have some work for you.”

Realizing their audience was at an end, Iaido
began to back out taking Talia with him. As they reached the door he said, “Remember
the Alamo.”

Vetter looked up from his console and the surprise
on his face was obvious.

The door slid shut and the couple found themselves
alone in the corridor. Iaido turned around and began to retrace their steps to
the lower areas of the station.

Talia was the first to break the silence. “Remember
the Alamo?” She cocked her head to the side and asked, “Why would you say that
to him?”

“The Alamo was originally a small church where
seventy Texans held off the whole of the Mexican army during the War of 1812.
It became a byword for being outnumbered but clinging to your beliefs. It was
also the name of the first starship to defect from the Coalition Fleet. It was
hunted down and destroyed but not before taking three other ships with it.
During the Galactic Civil War, the confederacy used both legends of the Alamo
to help build morale.”

“Are you suggesting that he was a Confederate?”

“Aye, I know he was. I’ve done my background on
him and know his history. And now he knows that I know.”

Talia shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Vetter called us up here for two reasons; one -
to warn us and two – as a display of power. By me saying three simple words, I
have shown him that I know more about him than he believed possible.”

“But why?”

“On Earth we have a game known as chess. It has
been around since the Dark Ages and it was once called the game of kings
because it taught the royals to look ahead and move their pieces strategically.
Both Vetter’s and my moves will only come to fruition later down the road.”