Take The Star Road (The Maxwell Saga) (17 page)

"I sure am!"

"Good. We'll get your recruitment process started while we're planetside, since the Sector Recruitment Office is right here on Vesta. All that means right now is that they'll take your details, run you through a truth-tester for a preliminary security test, do a basic medical exam, and gather details to do a background check on Earth. That takes months, of course, given the slowness of interplanetary inquiries. Both of us, being former Fleet - and the skipper too - will submit written recommendations to go with your application. That way, when the time comes, everything will be on file and ready to go. It'll save you several months of kicking your heels while you wait for the initial steps to be completed."

"Gee, thanks! I didn't know you could do it that way."

"The Fleet's been recruiting people for a long time. They've got to follow their procedures and deal with all the usual red tape, but they appreciate candidates who get all their ducks in a row in good time. There's also that jade dealer I mentioned back at Old Home Earth. We'll pay him a visit."

"Thanks, Bosun. I'd forgotten about that."

"I hadn't. We need to know what we're dealing with, and he's the best person I know to tell us."

Chapter 11: June 14th, 2837 GSC

"Did you print out those photographs?" the Bosun asked as they walked towards the business district.

"I've got them right here." Steve patted his uniform jacket, feeling the envelope in an inside pocket.

"Give them to me. Remember, as far as Lamington's concerned, you're just a junior Spacer who happens to be along for the ride this morning."

Steve handed over the envelope. "I still don't understand the secrecy, Bosun. Why don't you want to show him the knife itself? Don't you trust him?"

"You took it off what must have been at least a middle-ranking member of the Lotus Tong. Surviving Lotuses may want it back. If we use photographs, I can tell Lamington I saw it at Old Home Earth. That's true, of course, although it's not the whole truth. If we show him the real thing, and it turns out others want it, and word gets out that you have it... things might get sticky. I want to avoid that risk if at all possible, for your sake and the ship's."

Steve nodded. "That makes sense. I don't want a tong after my scalp again! By the way, speaking of tongs, how did the Dragon Tong become so powerful? Everyone talks about them with bated breath, but I've never understood why."

"I know something about it from my brother Henry, who's in law enforcement on New Brisbane. He told me that, at the time of the Scramble for Space, Chinese triads and tongs were under enormous pressure from their government. It saw them as rivals for its authority and the loyalty of its people. Many of them saw the Scramble as an opportunity to escape. They sold their assets, gathered their members, and emigrated
en masse
. They tried to arrive on their new planets already organized and fully functional, so they could take over the local crime scene before other crooks could develop structures of their own. Quite a few succeeded in doing that.

"The Dragons had a broader, longer-term vision. They started out by investing in one of Earth's orbital shipyards, training some of their people to build and maintain spacecraft, and sent a bunch more to be trained as spacers. They set up a labor brokerage and hired them out as crew to spaceship operators, making a normal commercial profit while their people gained experience. Over the course of a century or so they built up their own freight company, with its own fleet of ships, and crews that were completely loyal to the Tong. That gave them an exclusive interstellar criminal network under the cover of a legitimate cargo operation."

Steve frowned. "But surely any planetary government that caught on to what they were doing could have shut them down?"

The Bosun shook his head. "Don't forget, their early space operations were completely legal, so there were no grounds to shut them down. That also taught them how interstellar commerce worked, so that when they got into less legal activities, they knew who to bribe or threaten to keep things quiet. In due course they moved most of their people to Qianjin, a minor planet seven hundred light years from Earth. It's said to be their headquarters now, and they're rumored to control its government from top to bottom, although no-one's ever been able to prove either claim in an interplanetary court. I wouldn't recommend you say that on Qianjin, either!"

Steve snorted with laughter. "That might be terminally short-sighted!"

"Oh, yeah! They re-registered their corporation and its ships there, which took them out from under the thumbs of other planets to a large extent. Once they had that cover, they concentrated on interplanetary crime. For example, they'd arrange to swap high-value, low-bulk stolen goods between planets. That gave criminals on both worlds goods to sell that weren't 'hot' in the eyes of local law enforcement. The Dragons took their cut off both sides of the transaction, of course.

"They used their profits to set up more 'front' companies across the settled galaxy - freight lines, import and export agencies, restaurants and nightclubs, you name it. They were all legitimate businesses that provided great cover for their criminal activities, and helped to launder the profits, too. Over time they've become enormously rich and very powerful. They're said to have influence over the governments of several other planets besides Qianjin now, giving them diplomatic and political cover and multiple secure bases.

"Law enforcement would dearly love to shut them down, but they've got so many tentacles on so many planets that it's effectively impossible. Also, they act mostly as brokers and facilitators for other crooks. They commit very few crimes themselves - although word has it that when they do, they tend to pull out all the stops and go for really big jobs. Be that as it may, it's tough to prove anything against them in court. The cops keep an eagle eye on them, but that's often all they can do. The Dragons keep a real low profile, too. They seem to think that if the media aren't talking about them, there won't be much public pressure or support to move against them. They're probably right about that. Henry gets real frustrated about it sometimes."

"Have they ever tried to interfere with
Cabot
?" Steve asked.

"Not that I know of, but then, they don't need to. There are more than enough crooked spaceships for them to use without meddling with people like us. I've run into them a couple of times on different planets, and always treated them with cautious respect. No sense in causing trouble with them - I don't want to have to watch my back for the rest of my life! I'd rather stay neutral towards them. That way they don't make trouble for me, and I mind my own business where they're concerned. I suggest you do the same."

"I will, Bosun. Thanks for telling me all this. It's a side of the settled galaxy I didn't know at all."

"Read up about it. You've chosen a career field, whether as a merchant or a military spacer, where you'll run into interstellar crime more often than most. The more you know about what's going on out there, the better equipped you'll be to handle anything that might arise."

"Will do."

Cardle gestured to a storefront. "Here we are. Keep quiet unless I bring you into the conversation, OK? Lamington seemed trustworthy when I traded with him a few years back, but I don't know enough about him to be sure of that. I'd rather not take unnecessary chances."

"Aye aye, Bosun."

They entered through a glass door, an entrance bell tinkling melodiously. The shop was dimly lit, and heavily carpeted to keep it as quiet as possible. Several tall, narrow glass shelving units were placed at irregular intervals. Spotlights illuminated jade figures on each shelf. Steve was fascinated by the softly gleaming stone, in shades varying from translucent off-white to a shimmering deep green. He bent to look more closely at a carving of a dolphin leaping from the waves.

An elderly man stepped through a curtained alcove at the rear of the store. Steve noted that his face showed traces of mixed Caucasian and Far Eastern ancestry. His skin was lined and wrinkled, but his eyes were bright and alert.

"May I help you?" he asked, then looked more closely at his customers. His face registered surprise. "Oh, it's you, Mr. Cardle! It must be several years since we did business together."

"It is, Mr. Lamington. I'm surprised you remember me."

"I'm not likely to forget those jades you brought in! There were some excellent pieces among them - in fact, I was so taken with one that I added it to my personal collection. I do hope you've brought some more?"

"No, I'm looking for information this morning, if you'd be so kind. I came across a very unusual jade piece during my last visit to Old Home Earth. I have photographs of it. I wondered if you'd know anything about it."

"I'll be glad to take a look. Please come into my office. The light's better there. Who's your friend?"

"He's not a friend - he's one of my crew. We have work to do when I finish here. This is Spacer Third Class Maxwell."

"I see."

Steve noted the shop-owner didn't so much as glance at him after that. Clearly, after the Bosun's dismissive comment, someone of his lowly rank wasn't considered important.

The old man led them through the curtained doorway into a small, brightly-lit room with a central table surrounded by several chairs.

"Please sit down."

The Bosun did so, pulling out the contents of the envelope as Steve sat down next to him. He spread the photographs on the table. Lamington bent to peer at them, then straightened with a sudden hiss of astonishment.

"I - but - this is
incredible!
When and where did you see this knife? Where is it now?"

The Bosun affected surprise. "I came across it back at Old Home Earth. Is it something special, Mr. Lamington?"

"I - that is... my
goodness
, Mr. Cardle, you've given me a start this morning! D'you mean to tell me you truly don't know what this is?"

"It's a knife, of course, although I presume it's decorative rather than functional."

"If it's what I think it is, it's a lot more than just a knife." Lamington's voice was almost reverent, Steve thought. "Is the blade about fourteen centimeters long? Does it have a wooden scabbard?"

"Yes to both, if I remember correctly. It seemed to be in rather poor condition. There were several hairline cracks along the blade - one extended halfway through it. There were some chips out of the edge of the blade as well. I thought it couldn't be worth much, in that condition."

Lamington shook his head vigorously. "Its true value probably can't be measured in monetary terms, Mr. Cardle. It has little to do with art, but everything to do with Chinese history and culture on Old Home Earth. Just a moment."

The old man turned to a desk set against one wall, and activated the terminal mounted on it. He tapped a series of commands, and a scanned page from an old-fashioned book appeared on the display. It contained another picture of the knife, with Mandarin characters below it.

"This book was published in the twenty-first century, one of the last mass-produced in paper form. It's a history of the Triads, the Chinese criminal organizations, and the Tongs, Chinese social organizations that in many cases became as criminal as the Triads. Let me give you a rough translation of what it says."

Lamington peered at the text. "This jade knife is said to have belonged to Lei Sik Hoi, one of the legendary 'Five Ancestors' of the original Triads. He's one of five monks said to have escaped the destruction of an ancient temple in the 17th or 18th century by the Qing rulers of China. According to tradition, they fled to become the founders of the Triads. It's claimed the knife was handed down among Lei's spiritual descendants. It came to symbolize high rank, usually being carried by someone at '489' level, the 'Mountain Master' or head of the organization. The book doesn't specify which one, or whether it was a Triad or a Tong."

Lamington turned back to face them. "According to the book, the knife vanished during a persecution of the Triads in Hong Kong by British colonial authorities during the 20th century. It's still legendary among the Tongs and Triads. There's a long-standing reward offered for its rediscovery. It's grown over the years - it was a thousand
taels
in gold when last I heard of it. I'm amazed you've seen the knife! When and where was this, and who had it?"

Steve tried to remain outwardly impassive, but inwardly his mind reeled at the thought that he had in his possession an artifact potentially worth about one and a quarter million credits.

"I don't think I should say more," the Bosun answered slowly. "I saw it during my last visit to Old Home Earth, in the possession of someone who I believe was a Tong member. I have no idea how senior he was in his organization, and I haven't seen him since then. The knife was obviously very old, and I'd never seen one with a wooden scabbard before. I hoped these pictures would help me find out more about it someday."

"I can understand your interest! I'll be glad to contact jade dealers on Old Home Earth on your behalf. They'll be more familiar than I with the reward, and can tell us who to approach. I'll pass on that information to you as soon as I receive it. If you tell those looking for it who has it now, you'll undoubtedly be in line for at least part of the reward, as a commission for finding the current owner."