Collin didn
’
t want anything to do with their space war, one taking place twenty-eight light years from Earth. He didn
’
t know anything about this man
’
s so-called
Brotherhood
, either. Why should he take for granted that Her Majesty, the one with the pretty name, would be any worse to align with than the captain?
“
We
’
ll take our chances. Perhaps we
’
ll go back the way we came
…
what did you call that portal? Rolm something?
”
“
That
’
s right, it
’
s a Rolm portal. They
’
re interspersed throughout the universe
…
surprised you haven
’
t heard of them. Your problem will be getting anywhere close to it. The Kardon Guard maintain a small fleet of warships there
…
you
’
d be vaporized before you got within a light year
’
s distance of it.
”
“
Well, we
’
ll just have to take our chances then, I guess.
”
Collin caught Bubba trying to get his attention out of the corner of his eye. Bubba spoke under his breath,
“
We
’
re being pulled in toward their ship.
”
“
Your compatriot is right, Commander Frost. Our readings tell us your AI is inoperable. I
’
m not so sure I could pilot a ship without an AI
…
it would be a challenge. How about we bring this conversation closer, to a one-on-one? We
’
ll assist you with that.
”
Collin sat back and watched as the perspective on the display changed to include the Brotherhood
’
s ship, the
Tyrant
, and their own slowly approaching, extremely small in comparison spacecraft. It was evident the
Tyrant
was four or five times the size of the
Turd
.
For the first time, Collin was able to make out someone else on the display. Another man was talking in low tones into Primo
’
s ear. Primo then brought his attention back to Collin.
“
Seems your physiology isn
’
t as similar to our own as we
’
d first thought. We
’
re bringing your vessel into one of our freight bays.
”
He pursed his lips and looked contemplative.
“
Apparently not only is the gravity on your home planet significantly stronger than our own but your molecular structure is also different
…
your physiology, too. We certainly wouldn
’
t survive on your Earth planet
…
but you should be able to survive in our environment. We
’
ll need to make special accommodations for you, though. Stand by
…
this will only take a few minutes.
”
The display went dark. Orman checked the board and said,
“
The connection has been broken.
”
Collin let his last words sink in:
should be able to survive.
“
Orman, what do you know about this
Brotherhood
…
or any of this?
”
Collin asked.
“
Nothing. We
’
re as unfamiliar to this area of space as apparently you are. You are wise to keep your options open, but you may want to play along
…
don
’
t do anything to antagonize this Captain Primo. Our survival may depend on it.
”
Collin thought about Orman
’
s suggestion and nodded.
“
Agreed. We
’
re not exactly in any position to dictate anything, anyway. We
’
re pretty much at his
…
shit
…
everyone
’
s mercy.
”
The second display began to distort and then it too went totally black.
“
They
’
ve jammed our video inputs,
”
Orman said.
“
It
’
s unsurprising they
’
d want to hide their technology from outsiders.
”
The ship shook as loud sounds from outside the hull reverberated within the confines of the small bridge. Then everything was still.
“
I guess we
’
ve arrived,
”
Collin said, getting to his feet.
“
Let
’
s go hear what the captain is offering us.
”
Collin met Darren and Humphrey as they descended the stairs.
“
What the hell
’
s going on, Sticks?
”
Humphrey said.
Bubba, directly behind Collin, answered,
“
It
’
s Commander Frost to you, Humph. We
’
re meeting a few more aliens so we need to keep things cool
…
you understand?
”
This was the first time Bubba had openly sided with Collin against his close teammates. Humphrey looked at Bubba with suspicion.
“
Oh
…
He
’
s a commander now? Give me a break. There
’
s no way I
’
m calling Sticks Commander.
”
Humphrey and Darren realized they
’
d have to walk backward down the stairs to make way for those descending. Darren stopped at the bottom of the steps and held up his palms.
“
Just stop for a second and tell me what
’
s happening. Can you do that, Frost?
”
“
I
’
m not real sure what
’
s happening, Darren. Another ship just arrived and now we
’
ve been sucked over to that one. And apparently we dropped into some kind of interstellar war.
”
“
Terrific job, Commander Sticks,
”
Humphrey said.
“
You
’
re definitely the one to be leading us. Yup, a first rate job there, Commander Sticks.
”
Collin ignored Humphrey and continued toward the airlock compartment. He thought about whom he wanted with him for the forced meet-and-greet. He entered the airlock and stopped at the mid-ship hatch.
“
Bubba, DiMaggio and Orman, please come with me. Darren, someone needs to be in charge here while I
’
m gone.
”
Darren
’
s nod was subtle, but it was enough to convey his acceptance.
“
Let us know what
’
s going on, okay?
”
“
I will, I promise.
”
Darren slapped Humphrey
’
s chest with an open hand and the two stepped back and closed the inside airlock door. Orman initiated the opening of the outside hatch and the four waited, side by side, to greet Captain Primo.
Chapter 17
When the outer hatch opened, Collin saw eight armed, uniformed men waiting for them, pointing energy weapons of some kind in their direction. The ninth man, the one Collin recognized as Captain Primo, stood off to the right of the hatch and was inspecting the hull of the
Turd
. He rapped on its surface with his bare knuckles.
“
Exotic dense metals
…
no wonder Her Majesty sent a collector ship into the frontier. Your little turd of a ship may not look like much, but its composition would be highly coveted in these parts.
”
Primo looked over to Collin.
“
You see, it
’
s the molecular structure of things, of everything from where you
’
re from, beyond doubt also affected by the eons of time, since the environmental gravitational forces are far greater there.
”
Collin noticed Captain Primo was as tall as he was, but the similarities ended there. He was far more muscular and moved with a confidence Collin couldn
’
t imagine ever having. Dressed in the same black trousers and dark maroon jacket the others wore, he alone wore a gold sash running diagonally across his chest. There was something cool about the way these guys dressed.
“
Welcome to Notares space. Commander Frost, I presume?
”
he asked, holding out his hand, like someone from Earth would do.
“
Is it customary for your people to shake hands on Earth?
”
Primo asked.
“
Yes, it is.
”
Collin stepped forward, leaving the airlock of the
Turd
, and entered the freight bay of the
Tyrant.
With his right hand outstretched, Collin took Primo
’
s hand in his own. Suddenly and for no apparent reason the captain went down on his knees and tried using his left hand to pry free the hand held in Collin
’
s grasp. His face was locked in a painful grimace
—
his rapid breathing coming in short, agonizing breaths.
Two soldiers rushed forward, placing the muzzles of their weapons pointblank toward Collin
’
s head. One of the men said,
“
Release him
…
do it now!
”
Collin did as told and raised his hands. The mere action of moving his hands upward caused him to rise up off the deck several inches.
“
I
’
m sorry. I
’
m very sorry, Captain Primo,
”
Collin said, a look of real concern on his face.
“
I don
’
t know
…”
“
It
’
s all right, nothing
’
s broken,
”
Primo answered, standing upright again.
“
I should have known better. We already knew your physiology was different.
”
He rubbed his one hand with the other.
“
Mother of Dawn, that hurt!
”
Almost smiling now, Primo appraised the others in Frost
’
s group.
“
Why don
’
t you introduce me to your team?
”
Self-consciously, Collin looked to his friend:
“
This is Paul DiMaggio.
”
DiMaggio put out a hand and then changed it to a fist.
“
We sometimes do what is called a fist-bump on Earth.
”
He turned to Bubba and the two exchanged a quick bump. Slowly he turned back to the captain and held out a fist. Primo raised his eyebrows and carefully gave DiMaggio
’
s fist a solid bump of his own. He seemed to like that, turning to one of his own men and repeating the fist-bump process with him.
Collin noticed Primo had a small circular device, about an inch in diameter, high up on his jacket, near his collar. He suspected it was a translation device of some sort. There was no lag or delay hearing him speak their language, although the movements of his mouth did not synchronize with the words he heard.
“
Again, who are your team members?
”
“
This is John Washington, we call him Bubba. Over there is Orman.
”
Primo took in Bubba
’
s sheer girth and shook his head.
“
I wouldn
’
t want to mess with you, young man. You seem to have great physical prowess.
”
He gave Bubba a more gentle fist-bump. Collin was sure it was to save himself from more pain. The captain turned toward Orman. Orman didn
’
t extend out a hand or fist, but nodded in the captain
’
s direction.
“
I
’
m sorry for what happens next. We cannot have you moving about this vessel in your current physiological state.
”
It was then Collin noticed the hovering cart. Apparently defying the rules of gravity, the cart hovered several feet off the deck and was maneuvering over to where Primo was standing. There were twenty or thirty circular bands, like bracelets, positioned in two rows on the cart
’
s top surface.
“
These are what we call minimizers. For as long as I
’
ve been in command here, or any other place, for that matter, I don
’
t remember having to use these.
”
“
What exactly are they?
”
Collin asked, looking suspiciously at the devices.
“
They will normalize your movements. I
’
m sure you
’
ve noticed by now that you are having a hard time keeping your feet securely on the deck. And you
’
ve already seen firsthand what your body strength can accomplish here. Wearing these is just as much a protection for you as it is for us.
”
One of the armed soldiers placed his weapon on the second shelf of the cart, picked up one of the bracelets, and approached Orman. With the flick of a small switch, the minimizer bracelet opened. Collin watched as the soldier knelt on one knee and, still holding on to the bracelet, reached for Orman
’
s furry leg.
The feline-like creature
’
s reactions took everyone by surprise. With one swipe of his clawed hand, the soldier
’
s hand was cleanly removed at the wrist. Blood spurted into the air from the man
’
s stump in quick, rhythmic jets that covered the bulkheads and everyone around him in red.
Total chaos followed. Three energy pulses burned into Orman
’
s upper torso. When he didn
’
t immediately go down, five more followed. Collin stood transfixed, his mouth agape. Bubba, on the other hand, was already moving. Collin had seen the big guy move like that a hundred, maybe a thousand, times before
—
where he
’
d come up from his three-point stance and rocket forward just as the ball was snapped. Two hundred and fifty pounds of sheer brute force that typically devastated the opposing lineman
—
no matter how big he was. Bubba was almost always the bigger, and certainly the stronger, player.