South of the Ecliptic. Donald Ph.D. Ladew
waited for Piehl to calm down. "I don't know what went wrong between you two, but one thing I do know," he said with great conviction, "Blair Prince is not and never was a coward or a dishonorable man. Those who were less than he sought to bring him down. Lies were spread about him. You are known as a fair man, Captain, so weed out the rumors and get the facts straight. Like you, he did not surrender, but chose survival for his men and himself. He took the lot and went to the Rim."
"But what about the reports of piracy? Attacks on helpless settlements?"
"I suggest you review your intelligence, cross-correlate; you may find the so-called victims weren't that at all."
"Why are you telling me this, Shorty?" Piehl asked.
"Because, Captain, you're going to need all the support you can find out there, and no matter what you think, Colonel Blair Prince is your friend and always has been." He reached over and keyed something on Piehl's wrist comp.
"Those are his frequencies. Give it some thought, Captain. Safe journey."
Shorty headed out of the docking bay after his crew leaving Piehl with his mouth agape. There wasn't anything Piehl could say so he went back to the ship. The rest of the crew were in the galley/recreation area sitting around the table drinking coffee and spacer's brandy.
"Well, Captain, nothing left to do except get on with it," Flex said.
"No, we've got to wait a couple of hours; the King is sending a messenger with some special information I'm supposed to wait for."
"I don't like it, Captain," Flex said. "Last minute changes have a bad smell."
"Me either, but the King is financing this thing, so we wait. Apart from the fact he is the King and despite our late differences, I think he's a pretty fair example of what a king should be. Tell everybody, get some rest, the IMP will keep security."
The two hours went by quickly. Imp notified him when the messenger arrived.
"Captain, we've got visitors at the docking bay access."
"Visitors?" Why more than one, he wondered. "How many?"
"Two, Captain. One is a King's messenger and the other is dressed in civilian clothes."
"Do you have any extensors at the door?"
"Yes, Captain."
"Okay, record it. It doesn't feel right. I don't want anybody in here I can't look over first."
Piehl left the ship and walked across the docking bay toward the access hatch. The sergeant appeared in full kit at his right heel. He said nothing, just followed along. A couple of Shorty's men were still on the door as Piehl went into the passageway.
He looked over the Imperial Messenger. The uniform looked right. He held a micro-core toward Piehl. Piehl didn't take it, instead he asked for identification. The man produced it in a hurry. Piehl took it over to the IMP's extensor for scan.
The IMP spoke quietly. "Appears to be authentic, Captain." Piehl ignored the Imperial Messenger and spoke to the civilian in a hard voice. "Who are you?"
The man answered in a bored voice tinged with annoyance. "If you read the messenger's micro-core, you'll find out, Piehl."
"Mister, I asked a question. I'll ask you again. After that I will have the sergeant stimulate your vocal chords."
He spoke sullenly. "I am a messenger to the King's brother on Back N' beyond, I am to go with you. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to my quarters." He started to move around Piehl.
Piehl reached out and placed two fingers at the juncture of the man's neck and collar bone, and pressed hard. The man hissed with pain and backed away.
"Mister," Piehl said coldly, "you don't understand anything. You don't go anywhere, do anything, without my permission, understand?"
The man nodded his head angrily. "Back up against the wall, now! Sergeant, search him."
His eyes looked uneasy and his hand started to move toward his waist. Piehl backed off a pace and had his stunner in hand in an instant. He didn't wait, just let him have half stun in the chest. It slammed the man against the wall and he fell forward on his face.
The Imperial Messenger was terrified. He fell to his knees pleading. "They made me do it, Captain. They would have killed me for sure."
"Who are they, mister?"
"I can't tell you that, Captain."
"You've got two ways to go. You can tell me everything, now, or I kill you. Believe it! Or you can go back to your friends and they'll kill you later. I don't care at all.
"Sergeant, strip this other gent, and do a full search. IMP, move your extensor in here. When the sergeant is finished, do a scan of his body"
"Got it, Captain."
"Now, mister, talk to me!"
He shivered. "Vice-Admiral Pariel, sir. He made me do it."
"Why?"
"I don't know, honest, Captain, I don't know."
"IMP, what do you find?"
"This man is a walking electronics shop. His excrement is probably wired!"
Two of the ex-Legion hands had been standing by, watching the whole thing with great interest.
"Boys, do me a favor," Piehl said. "Take this garbage away."
"How far, Captain?"
"A long way."
"Right, sir. Good goddamned riddance, too." One of them nodded toward the Imperial Messenger. "What about that one, sir?"
"No, I have no other plans for him." Piehl turned to the groveling messenger. "You go back to the palace and request to see the King and tell him everything that occurred here."
"I can't do that, sir. Great Gods, I wouldn't get past the main tubeway."
"Yes, you will. IMP, code everything that's happened here and send it on that special channel. When you have the proper acknowledgment, let me know. For now, you step in here. Just beside the access. Someone will come for you."
In ten minutes, six Sufic Warriors of the Imperial Guard showed up and escorted the messenger away. Piehl slammed the access shut and set for un-dock sequence.
"IMP, bring all your stuff, we aren't waiting for anymore messengers, real or phony. We probably aren't welcome where we're going either, but I want space. We can't maneuver here."
Chapter 8
Sergeant, go to your station." As soon as Piehl reached the control deck he hit the departure signal and heard it ring throughout the ship. Shortly, the rest of the crew began to appear on the flight deck.
"Everybody strap in and seal up. Bring your systems on-line. Report when boards are green."
Piehl acknowledged each as they reported.
"Weapons, I want a full near-field and far-field scan. All tubes loaded for close action."
"Aye, aye, Captain."
"Whistler, set up to go out via LaGrange IV Terminus. As soon as Port Control gives you the last 'go', set ‘cloaking’, cut the ship's velocity to one third. Do one rotation on planetary orbit before going out to terminus."
"Tricky, Captain, very tricky," Flex grinned.
"The King may be able to squash this Royal Navy crap, I don't know, but I'm not going to give anything away."
"IMP, get Port Control and begin clearing us out." Piehl could hear the two computers talking in the background. The huge docking bay doors began to open outward on the night sky of Regent's Planet.
He felt