Solbidyum Wars 3: Pirates of Goo'waddle Canals (36 page)

After relating details concerning recent events and the upcoming move, Norkoda replied that he had been waiting for us to contact them.  During the night, they received word from Admiral Regeny that another Federation frigate, the
LOCOLAT,
had been attacked by a very large spaceship of unknown origin two days earlier in an episode similar to the attack on the
GROTTOM
.  The unidentified ship reportedly used the same or similar technology to render the
LOCOLAT
’s crew helpless.  Unfortunately, the frigate had not yet received a cloaking or RMFF system and the ship was captured.  As the ship was being boarded, one Nibarian crewmember who, for some reason, had not been affected by the enemy’s weapon, was able to send out a gravity wave message pod relating the attack, but since then, no new messages had been received from the ship.

Just a day later, according to the admiral, the nearby planet,
Kublac, was attacked by Brotherhood ships accompanied by the
LOCOLAT
and the larger ship we now suspected to belong to the Tottalax.  They sacked large portions of the planet, emptied out the armories of their military supplies, and took all the available ships — both military and civilian.  Kublac was mostly an outpost planet that hosted no significant resources; and it only had a token military force with a few troop transports and patrol ships — nothing heavy or significant — hence, they were vastly outnumbered and out-gunned.  The admiral said that the incident occurred near the Federation border, not too far from this region, and that we should keep our eyes out for any large, unfamiliar ships.

He also related that many of the ships captured in the raid were military ships stationed at the planet, ships of both Federation and the planetary guard.  Most of the ships captured were in space; the bodies of the crews had been discovered floating in space by the Federation ships that arrived in response to the distress call when the attack began; but by then the Brotherhood and the mysterious enemy ship had vanished from the area.

“This is not good,” Kerabac said.  “We know there’s a large contingency of Brotherhood gathered here, and yet they had a great enough force to attack a planet in the Federation as well.  Even though we’ve known that they’re spread throughout the Federation, it looks like their numbers are far greater than we believed.  In spite of you and the Federation having wiped out large numbers of their ships, the Brotherhood seems to be increasing in numbers and strength; and with each attack they’re commandeering even more arms and ships.”

“I am not sure what to do about it.  The sooner we can get the solbidyum back and get into Federation territory, the better.  Norkoda, get in touch with Commodore Stonbersa on the
NEW ORLEANS
with instructions for the commodore to contact Admiral Regeny directly.  He should suggest that the admiral might want to pass all available information about the attacks to A’Lappe, so he can analyze the data and see if he can come up with some sort of defense against this new weapon threat.

“Also, find out exactly where the frigate
RIVED
was when it was attacked, and where the
LOCOLAT
was when they last transmitted.  Then let’s connect the dots and see if there is any clear progression or direction to these incidents.  I think the ship that was with the Brotherhood in this latest attack may have been the same ship that attacked the
RIVED
.  If we can trace it back, we may be able to discover where it originated.

“One more thing.  I don’t think it’s necessary for the
NEW ORLEANS
to remain staged at the opposite side of this system any longer.  Tell Stonbersa to respond here with the
NEW ORLEANS
remain cloaked for the time being.”

It was about an hour and a half later when Tondor’s transport arrived.  To be honest, it was more like a huge luxury houseboat, richly appointed with wood paneling, marble-like floors in some places and rich carpeting in others.  There was a main lounge equipped with a fireplace, a galley staffed with two chefs, numerous well-appointed cabins for guests and an opulent master suite with the richest furnishings and details that one could imagine. 

“WOW!” Padaran exclaimed, as the captain toured us around the boat.  He turned to me and said in a voice the captain could not hear, “I’m almost tempted to stay on Goo’Waddle and run the Ruwallie Rasson, if this is how their leader lives.”  I was about to say something when he added, “But I have no intention of staying here or continuing to rule the Ruwallie Rasson.  Tondor can do that in my stead.  All I want to do is give him directions as to how to rule them from now forward and to end some of their more nefarious practices.”

“I think that’s a wise move, Padaran.  You can guide from afar without all the headaches of dealing with daily minutia that way.”

“Yeah, and I doubt that my being in charge here would go as smoothly as it will with a Ruwallie Rasson in charge.  While, at the moment, most of the Ruwallie Rasson are willing to follow me, believing it’s the will of the gods, it is only a matter of time before some of them begin to challenge that idea… and I don’t want to end up poisoned.”

Kerabac was behind me when Padaran said this and he laughed.  “You are indeed a wise man, Padaran.  This way you will go down in Ruwallie Rasson history and legend.  If you were to stay, you would most certainly be killed and quickly forgotten. I think you can do a lot to civilize this renegade band.  They have given a bad name to my people and portrayed a despicable image of my culture and race long enough.  No
true
Ruwallie Rasson thinks, believes or acts as these do.”

“We have had similar situations on my home planet,” I said, “and among my own race.  By far, the largest portions of the white people in my country were not prejudiced against blacks, nor did they want or approve of slavery; but there were those who did.  These conflicting views caused a lot of tension at times and, unfortunately, it was those who were prejudiced that made the most trouble and
nurtured an image of hatred between the races, often where little or none existed.  To be fair, though, many of my own race should have stood up in more firm opposition and told the racist bigots to sit down and shut up.  Instead, they sat back and let things go, rather than get involved.  Too often, their silence was taken as consent by the bigots and by their victims, as well.  Tolerating bullies and bigots is never the right thing to do.”

“I agree, Tibby.  You and I think alike on that matter,” Kerabac said as he placed his hand on my shoulder.

As we approached the area near Tondor’s estate inside the Ruwallie-controlled
calganas,
we began weaving in and out of gated canals.  Each gate was manned by guards, who opened the gates and saluted as we passed.  It became obvious that the
calganas
and canals there were deliberately situated like a maze, in the center of which was Tondor’s estate, occupying the entire expanse of one very large
calgana
.

“It certainly looks like the Brotherhood would have a hard time getting in here,” Kala said as she slipped her arm through mine.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” I replied.

“Have you tried any of those small pieces of meat on the sticks laid out on that tray over there?  They’re delicious!” Kala exclaimed just as my stomach rumbled.  I looked in the direction she pointed to see a large buffet of food selections laid out on an island-type bar in the center of the room.  Tanden and Jenira were busy sampling all the dishes with extreme delight.  It looked and felt good to see them laughing together.  Tanden had his hair cut and groomed, I suspect by his sister, and was dressed in slacks and a collarless shirt of some soft fabric.  He still had his arm in a cast; but otherwise, he had gained some weight and was beginning to look like any other healthy and happy boy his age.

Kala and I approached the food bar as Tanden looked up and said in an excited voice, “Tibby, you need to try these fruits.  When you bite on them, they pop in your mouth and all this wonderful juice squirts out! They’re really yummy.”

I took one of the small peach-colored fruits, about the size of an Earth grape, and put it in my mouth.  Sure enough, it popped when I bit into it – and just a bit sooner than I expected, causing some of the juice to squirt out through my lips. 

Both Tanden and Jenira jumped back, laughing hysterically.  “See, I told you,” Tanden chided.  Tanden was right; the juice in these small fruits was incredibly delicious. 

“I think those are
bowaban fruits,” Kerabac said as he popped one into his mouth.  “They are originally from my home world and are highly prized there.”

“They sure are good.  Do you have these on your planet and your estate, Tibby?” Tanden asked.  More and more, he had been asking questions about my estate, since I had told him that he and his family could come and live there until his father could get himself back on his feet.

“To be honest, Tanden, I don’t know if I do or not.  We have many trees and plants on my estate from all over the galaxy; I have no idea what all is growing there.  We also have plants growing on my ship, the
NEW ORLEANS,
but I don’t think we have any bowaban trees.  Maybe we should have some planted in one of the atrium gardens.”

By now, we had reached the inner canals and were pulling up to a docking area where all sorts of luxurious boats were tied.  Several armed Ruwallie Rasson guards appeared at various locations about the docking area, all of whom dropped to one knee and saluted Padaran as he disembarked.

“Welcome,
Dormon
Padaran, to your home.  We are your servants and guards,” one of the Ruwallie Rasson men said.  It appeared he was in charge of those at the docking area. 

“
Dormon
is a title that means ‘Leader’ or ‘Lord’ in the Rasson language,” Kerabac explained.

The kneeling guard continued.  “I am Right Man Neugalie.  I see to all security here on your
calgana
.”

“A ‘Right Man’ is a rank, like a Captain in the Federation,” Kerabac whispered to me.

“Rise, Neugalie,” Padaran said.  “I want you to discuss security with my man Marranalis here.  He is a prized warrior, and he may want to test some of your men’s combat skills and provide some training, if necessary.”

“I assure you,
Dormon
Padaran, my men are the most highly skilled and trained that there are; they will need no other training.”

“Hmm.”  Padaran hummed as he looked about at the guards.  “Which of these men are the best?  Besides you, of course.”

“That would be Sondan,” the Right Man stated, pointing to a tall muscular Ruwallie Rasson not too far away.

“I see,” Padaran said coolly.  “Have him bind and remove my man Marranalis…if he can.”

The Right Man started to sweat; but he nodded to Sondan, who strutted forward with a determined look on his face.  He grabbed Marranalis arm — which was totally the wrong thing to do — and instantly Sondan was flying across the dock and out into the canal.

Padaran feigned a sigh.  “I fear your guards will need additional training, if that is the best they can do.”

By now, the Right Man was in a full dripping sweat and horror showed plainly on his face.  Whether he thought he was going to be punished or he was simply terrified at seeing one of his best so easily and quickly defeated, I did not know.

Marranalis had moved to the side of the dock and was helping a very embarrassed Sondan up out of the water, just as Tondor came walking hurriedly toward us from the house.

“What happened?  Neugalie, you didn’t allow one of my men attack these people, did you?  Padaran is your new
Dormon
and these are his servants, as are you all now.  Kerabac is the
Dormon’s
business partner.  You cannot be attacking them.”

“My apologies, Tondor, but I only did as the
Dormon
asked.  He wished to test the skills of our guards and, alas, it didn’t go well.  It would appear the gods have decreed that we have much to learn, and they are most displeased with us.”

“It’s quite alright, Tondor,” Padaran said.  “I did indeed make the request that led to the event.  No harm has been done, but we know now that the guards here will need additional instruction.”

“As you say,
Dormon
.  Please, allow me to show you your new home.”  And with that Tondor turned and began to lead us into the huge house that was built in much the same style as what was called ‘Mediterranean’ on Earth.

The first thing I noticed on entering Tondor’s house was that he apparently had a fondness for dark purple and green — or there was some significance to these colors in Ruwallie Rasson culture — as the two colors dominated everything from wall coverings to furniture.  The floor was a dark green marble-like stone; most of the walls were painted a dark purple and dark green drapes were mounted in tracks on the ceiling so they could be pulled across the length of any room to divide it into smaller spaces.  The precise reason for this was not clear to me and I made a mental note to ask Kerabac about the significance of it later.  Statues and various sculptures carved from a black onyx-like stone and inlaid with gold were mounted on small pedestals and in small alcoves in the walls about each room.