AGU SCI 1: The Star Brotherhood (7 page)

"So what do we do about it?" Nelligen asked.

"We could try to heat things up a bit."

"But if they start fighting in the streets, a lot of innocent people could be hurt," Brenda said.

"So we try to make sure the fighting is out of the population centers."

"How do we do that?" Kathryn asked.

"I don't know yet. But there has to be a way."

"Is it likely that Lippaula will hire us for some service to the Brotherhood?" Byers asked.

"I don't know. She said she wants to see me again in a week."

"Why?" Brenda asked.

"I don't know, and she didn't elaborate. Perhaps she has to check with someone to see if she needs a smuggler, or perhaps she only wants to reminisce some more."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Kathryn asked.

"The same as we've been doing. We visit taverns and listen for loose talk about GA crimes being committed or planned." Vyx yawned and stretched, then said, "Guys, it's been a long day and I'm beat. I'm heading for bed. We can take this up again at breakfast, if there's anything more to say. I'll try to get that report done early so everyone can read it before we head out."

Vyx was already sound asleep when Brenda entered their living quarters. She prepared herself for bed, then slipped into the king-sized bed they shared. She tried but couldn't fall asleep and wound up staring at the sleeping form of Vyx, barely visible in the low illumination from a chronograph on the bulkhead opposite the bed. She would have loved to be a Gesta beetle on the wall wherever Vyx and Lippaula spent the day. Gesta beetles had chameleon capability that allowed them to blend almost seamlessly with the background. Until now, Brenda knew she was the only woman in Vyx's life, but she couldn't help wondering how— involved— he and Lippaula had gotten while renewing their acquaintance today. She had been attracted to Vyx from the start and over the years had grown to love him deeply, but she couldn't help worrying that if his high school lover was trying to work her way back into his life, their personal relationship might be about to end.

* * *

As the team deployed to their selected taverns the following morning, Vyx chose a new location. The trouble he'd had at the first tavern had made the other customers wary and un-talkative, and seeing him leave with a Brotherhood enforcer probably meant that the second tavern would be a dry hole whenever he was there.

Vyx found a new location nearer the spaceport. It was busy even at such an early hour, but he found an empty table and began his day. Everything was quiet until three armed Uthlarans entered the tavern.

Vyx paid careful attention to the three newcomers with his peripheral vision. It was obvious they were looking for somebody in particular as they scanned the tavern's occupants. Vyx nonchalantly moved his right hand off the table and unhooked the tiny strap that normally anchored his pistol firmly in the holster. As he slowly removed the pistol from the holster, he clicked the safety off. He was then ready for whatever came next. From the look of the three new tavern customers, he felt that that could be anything.

As the three Uthlarans approached the table where Vyx was sitting, one said to his companions, "Sit down boys. This is the man we've been searching for."

Vyx stared at the apparent leader of the trio without speaking while he and the 'muscle' took seats at his table. Although all of the newcomers were armed, Vyx suspected that the ones on either side of him relied mainly on their physical strength rather than their skill with a pistol. The situation with the leader would be different. He didn't have the physique of someone who used body strength to enforce his will, so it was at him that Vyx aimed the pistol he was holding under the table. When alone, Vyx always tried to sit with his back to a wall, but that worked to his detriment this time as he found himself bracketed by two thugs. He began planning the attack he would carry out after he took care of the leader.

"You're Vyx, right?" the leader said.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Cillota."

"You say that like I should recognize the name."

"Everybody in this city knows my name."

"Apparently not everyone."

"Everyone who has been here more than a few days."

"What do you want, Cillota?"

"You're Vyx, right?"

"Yeah, I'm Vyx."

"I received a report that you visited the Brotherhood headquarters before noon and didn't leave until midnight."

"So?"

"Have you joined the Brotherhood?"

"What business is that of yours?"

"We've decided to accept your application to join the Senesim Syndicate instead."

"I never made any application. I'm not a joiner. I told that to the Brotherhood."

"You don't have to join. You're already in."

"So I don't get a choice?"

"You have a choice. You're either with us or against us."

"I see. And why was I chosen for this honor?"

"We heard about you killing that fool Makkod. We have enough dangerous people running around loose on the streets. We don't want another to worry about."

"And if I refuse to remain a part of your organization?"

"I was joking. Just a little banter before we got down to the real business. We're not really interested in having you become a member of the Syndicate."

Cillota made a move that Vyx interpreted as reaching for a pistol, so he fired his own. The beam hit the leader in the belly and Vyx swept the beam upward slightly to do as much damage as possible.

Cillota went flying backward as a result of his body's own autonomic reflexes as the laser tore through his body. His pistol was out of his holster and in his hand, but he no longer had the strength to aim and fire it. As Cillota's chair crashed to the floor, the enforcer on Vyx's right swung a fist backhanded towards Vyx's head. The blow probably would have done significant damage, considering what it did to the wall when it landed,
if
Vyx's head had remained where it was during the short discussion. But as Cillota hurtled backwards, Vyx pushed the table away and dove at the enforcer on his left. The cross-body block with an elbow smash to the face caught the enforcer by surprise, but he managed to wrap his arms around Vyx and hang on as the back legs of the chair broke under the combined weight of the two men. The overburdened furniture was unable to bear the load and splintered as it collapsed to the floor. Vyx knew he had to get free fast because the Uthlaran's strength was incredible, and there was still another enforcer to deal with. Being held so close to his opponent offered little opportunity to land a blow, so Vyx pointed his pistol, still held in his right hand, at the man's body and fired repeatedly into the side of his opponent's chest until the grip relaxed.

As Vyx rolled free, the other enforcer flung the table out of the way and moved towards Vyx while attempting to draw his weapon. Vyx raised his pistol and fired at the area where an Uthlaran's heart is located. The man's face registered the shock of knowing he was looking at death without chance for reprieve. He dropped heavily to the floor and moved no more.

Fearing that other Syndicate people might have entered the tavern while he was busy, Vyx raised himself up on his left arm and scanned the room with his pistol ready to repel anyone who might want to join the battle. But all he saw was stunned and frightened faces. He took a deep breath and then stood up. Believing no one in the room was going to join in the attack, he replaced the pistol in his holster and picked up the three lattice pistols that had belonged to the Syndicate enforcers. After straightening his clothes, he held up a one hundred credit note so the bartender could see it. "For the broken chair— and the mess," he said, as he tossed the money onto the nearest table before heading for the door.

Vyx paused to scan the street before leaving the relative safety of the tavern doorway. Seeing no obvious signs of a threat, he stepped outside and headed for the
Scorpion
.

Vyx wasn't surprised to find that the security device preventing unauthorized access to the ship was still set when he reached the
Scorpion
. It was early afternoon, so his fellow agents were undoubtedly still doing their best to collect information in various locations around the city.

After disabling the explosive device, he entered the code that would unlock the hatch and entered the ship. Reaching the lounge, he pulled two of the lattice pistols from his front waistband and dropped them on the table. He then removed the third pistol from his waistband at the small of his back and added it to the other two. Feeling substantially better without the three pistols digging into his body each time he moved, he dropped onto one of the sofas.

While always alert for danger when in a hostile place and prepared to respond with deadly force in an instant, he really didn't understand the most recent attack. Until now he'd had no contact with the Senesim Syndicate and would have expected at least a reasonable attempt at discussion before they endeavored to assassinate him.

Vyx was still sitting on the sofa, reviewing everything that had occurred since they'd arrived on Bleadalto a week earlier, when Nelligen and Kathryn arrived back at the ship.

"It appears you've been adding to our collection of lattice weapons again," Nelligen said when he saw the weapons on the table.

"I ran into a little trouble with some Syndicate people today."

"The Syndicate?" Kathryn echoed. "Why?"

"I don't know. I've been going over everything we've done here since we arrived. It doesn't make sense."

"Who were they?" Nelligen asked.

"Two were just muscle."

"And the third?"

"He said he was the Syndicate boss for this sector of the city."

"Oh boy," Kathryn said.

"Maybe he was and maybe he wasn't. I really don't know. It could have all been a bluff."

"Why a bluff?" Nelligen asked.

"Perhaps he thought I would relax my guard if I believed he was only there for a discussion. But when he reached for his pistol, I shot him."

"Are you sure he was reaching for his pistol?" Kathryn asked.

"Uh— pretty sure. If I was wrong I'll be happy to apologize."

"To whom," Nelligen asked, "his widow?"

"When you're in an intense situation, you have to announce your movements in advance if they're innocent. He should have known that."

"That still leaves the
why
question," Kathryn said.

"If they really were Syndicate people, and I have no way to verify that right now, then they must believe me to be a threat."

"And that will apply to us soon enough as well," Nelligen said, "simply from association."

"Possibly. We'll have to be a lot more careful. Perhaps we should consolidate a bit more instead of you guys going out in two-man teams. Or else we could just leave Ogsnara completely and find another city where we can set up an operation."

"But if we're still on this planet," Kathryn said, "and one of the crime groups wants to get us, they'll just track us down."

"If I knew for sure what and who was behind this, I'd know what to do. If I keep getting attacked in taverns, the owners are going to lock the doors when they see me coming."

"If you keep getting attacked, someone might get lucky and punch your ticket," Nelligen said.

"There's that also," Vyx said in agreement.

Brenda and Byers returned a short time later. They saw the pistols on the table and were briefed on the situation. The usual dinnertime joviality was absent as everyone thought about the problem and what the future days might bring.

Mindful of the current potential danger, the entire team remained aboard ship the following morning and discussed the second attack endlessly as they tried to make some sense of it. Vyx had activated the bionic recording equipment in his body prior to entering the tavern, so the entire event, as seen through his eyes, was available on a data wafer. He downloaded the recording to the ship's computer system so everyone could view it on the monitors in the lounge.

"It's exactly as you said," Brenda said when the shooting had ended. "They obviously went there looking to kill you. You can tell by the way they walked, acted, and scanned the room as they entered the tavern, then walked directly to your table. And the one who identified himself as Cillota had to be reaching for his pistol. There didn't appear to be any pockets down there."

"But why attack Vyx?" Byers said. "We haven't done anything to harm the Senesim Syndicate. In fact we haven't yet done anything to interfere with any criminal activities on the planet."

"The first attack was simply from a bully who liked to pick fights, so I wasn't too concerned when that was over, although there's always the possibility of a relative or employer vendetta. But this second attack really troubles me. They had an agenda when they entered the tavern. I was lucky they sent two muscle-bound fools who expected me to be an easy mark. They probably won't make that mistake again. The next time it could be me lying on the floor."

"Don't even suggest that," Brenda said.

"It's a fact. So we have to decide if we stay here or go. And by go I mean leave the planet entirely and find a new place to ply our trade."

"I vote we leave," Brenda said. "Short of walking into the Syndicate headquarters and asking them why they attacked you, I see no way of learning what's going on. We haven't been here long enough to develop any dependable information sources."

"Now that you mention that, there might be one— the Wolkerron who introduced himself to me and tried to interest me in a job. Job brokers are usually better tuned in to the local power structure than they let on. You simply have to know how to talk to them."

"You mean you simply have to offer them enough incentive in the form of GA credits," Nelligen said.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Vyx said with a grin.

~ July 1
^st
, 2288 ~

Sitting aboard a spaceship discussing possibilities was pointless once the possibilities ran out. Vyx, although senior officer of the intelligence team, usually solicited the opinions of the others before making a decision that would place everyone's lives in jeopardy, but on this occasion he made the decision on his own. Just after lunch he left the ship with Albert Byers after ordering everyone else to remain aboard.