Bactine (27 page)

"Mr. Zacharias!" He hoisted his impressive figure from the equally impressive chair and held out his hand. "Do sit, do sit."

Daniel shook the man's hand and took the offered seat.

After being served tea and a scary amount of cookies, Huajo said: "I have heard of your adventures, Mr. Zacharias. You have been through quite a few. There are rumours already that you are the embodiment of Flish."

Daniel's expression told Huajo that Flish did not mean much to him.

"Flish, Mr. Zacharias, is one of our mythical apparitions. It is said about Flish that there were only few things that could actually kill him. And as you have lived through two encounters with pirates..."

"I see. Thank you for explaining that, Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy."

"Now, please tell me, Mr. Zacharias, what it is you want to see me about."

Daniel told about his situation, that he was out of a job, yet on the payroll of the Society. "I recalled your words about possibly have an opportunity for me, the time we met on the docks."

Huajo slowly nodded, while munching away the cookies. "Yes. I recall that meeting well. Alas, sir, at this moment there are things requiring my attention that are not so much concerning my ships. I am, as you may not know, a member of the Zoroon Steering Committee and there are... No. I should not bore you with political nonsense I have brought upon myself." Another handful of cookies vanished. "I do understand your predicament, Mr. Zacharias. At the moment, however, my hands are tied. The situation around the pirating has become rather volatile. The Ship Owners Society is fully aware of all that has happened, and the displeasure Clelem Dandra has shown makes it quite difficult to find a new position for you. It is quite unfair, I know. You are, unfortunately, caught in a game of politics. And there are some other... how should I say... circumstances concerning Clelem Dandra ko Galem... that need to be addressed."

The hopes Daniel had when he came here were stomped deeper into the ground of NGC6637-VIII with every sentence the fat man spoke. "I understand, sir. At least I think."

"Try not to worry, Mr. Zacharias. Things like these can change overnight. And I may call on you sooner than you expect."

Daniel nodded, without much confidence. He finished his tea and got up. "I thank you for your time, sir. It was enlightening at least."

Huajo burst out in laughing. "Nobody has ever accused me of bringing enlightening, Mr. Zacharias! I thank you for this, you have certainly made my day a good one!"

Daniel grinned an obligatory grin. Then he remembered something. "Seigner Dogom ko Tzuy, do you know about sticks that can paralyse a person?"

Huajo frowned. "In fact I do. Nasty things. They make a person feel very very bad. Why this question?"

Daniel explained about the attack at Maliser Park, leaving out most of the details. "I wonder why sailors don't have these things with them. They would be an excellent weapon against pirates."

"I see. The powers of the planet are really after you, Mr. Zacharias. As you probably know, the water of the planet prohibits many things. Metal, real wood, things like these are not granted a long life. The paralysing sticks fall into that same category. We have tried all we could, but none of them lasted more than a day aboard a ship."

Daniel thanked Huajo for the reply. He shook the man's hand and turned to leave.

"Oh... Mr. Zacharias..."

"Sir?"

"Please try not to end as our mythical hero Flish."

"How did Flish end, sir?"

"He became a victim of the machinations of the gods."

"I'll do my best to avoid those, Seigner. Thank you for the warning."

"I owe you this much, Mr. Zacharias. I look forward to meeting you again in a more favourable situation."

Daniel left the house with a block of lead hanging from his gut.

He was glad for the decent weather. It took the carriage he had called for quite a while to get there; he'd have sworn he could walk back home in that time.

Huajo's words kept churning in his mind. The man was aware of the paralysing sticks. He clearly knew where Maliser Park was. He certainly had the shape that would cause a cloak to stand out so wide. Could Huajo be the person that had- No, he rejected the thought immediately. That person had not limped about, and also had moved much faster than Huajo had done.

Or had it been Warlem? The poet, the family drop-out. He certainly would have reasons to go against his fathers reign. Or not... As long as his expenses were covered, the young man could probably do what he wanted. Which opened options, of course...

Whatever he tried, there was no way out of the maze that led him to the mysterious person that had attacked him. Another maze also prevented him to decide what he would do next.

The next day Daniel tried to think of something constructive to do. Something that would take his mind off the ghosts that were haunting him, and growing into obsessions. He had to get away from the monsters that made him feel powerless. Useless.

He was aware that the problem was inside his head, so, he deducted, he should try and fill that head with other things. But what?

In an impulse he picked up his hydger to call Tomlin. Maybe his friend had an idea. Or a job. He flipped the device open. The sound the cover made triggered something with him; it made him think of a remark Huajo had made about Flish. Flish, the mythical figure that the fat man had compared him to.

Yes, that could be something. Why shouldn't he find out more about this mythical character Flish? He was here, on this planet, so he could just as well learn a bit more about it in his time off. Clelem had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Daniel anymore. Huajo had other things on his mind also, so what else was there to do?

As Daniel had plenty of time, he was making quite a fuss about his attire. He laughed at himself, ridiculing himself about it. He recalled how Rhonda and he had laughed these clothes, so long ago on star base. Rhonda. Where would she be now...

After assuring everything was in order, he went out. In the elevator he met a few people that were living in the same building. He had never had much contact with them, but whenever they met, they exchanged social politenesses.

Once outside, Daniel made his way to the library. It was an ancient place, with books equally ancient, many of them even older. The smell of old leather, fading ink and yellow paper greeted him as he entered the large hall. He had been there a few times before, and Daniel had learnt to appreciate the scent and the feel of the heavy books.

One of the librarians helped him find his way around the mythological section, where he pulled a few books from shelves. "Here you go, sir. These volumes should get you started nicely."

Daniel hauled the books to an available table and hoped the thud they made did not get him thrown out. Nobody seemed to mind, though. He opened the first book and started going through the index, locating the only chapter on Flish quickly.

As he was slowly progressing through the chapter, the book was written in the planet's own language, someone sat down opposite him at the table. He was almost through a paragraph, so he did not want to look up. That would mean losing track of the tale, and it was fascinating in that Flish had been a boatsman. Also Daniel did not want to lose the battle with the language.

When finally he peeked over, he saw senator Sygra Dirrit ko Asac sitting at the table. "Oh. Senator. Good morning."

"Good morning to you, Mr... Zachaiis?" The thin man already had his face set for apology.

"Zacharias, but you were close," Daniel smiled. "Such a nice surprise."

The senator nodded. "The pleasure is mine, sir. I was not aware that you were interested in that mythology."

Daniel grinned and told him what he had heard about Flish from Huajo.

"Ah. I see. Yes, Mr. Zacharias, in that light I can see how people can arrive at that idea." Sygra smiled.

"Do you know more about Flish?" Daniel asked.

"Not very much. It is not my... philosophy. Mine is not so related to things of the water."

Daniel had never given religion much thought. Not for himself, and not here on the planet. Now he understood that he had been neglecting something. Ignoring something, to say the very least.

Sygra took the seat next to Daniel and looked over the page he had been reading.

As the senator skimmed over the page, Daniel frowned. There was a remarkable smell coming from the man's clothes, and he suddenly remembered smelling that also when he had first met the senator, at that wretched party. Senator or not, Daniel mused, he had a horrible taste in cologne.

"Yes, indeed," Sygra nodded. "This page almost sums up what I know about Flish. He was the son of a storm god, as it says here. He wanted to lay down the storms, to make life easier for mankind. He succeeded for quite a long time. But of course, the other gods for weather did not appreciate Flish's attempts to undermine their work, so they worked together and that became the downfall of Flish."

Daniel frowned. "Somewhere this comparison does not work for me, sir. I am not trying to lay down storms."

Sygra laughed silently. "You are here to counter pirates, aren't you? Don't you think that pirates are a storm in their own way? And what about the Ship Owner Society, Mr. Zacharias? Don't you agree that they are in the position to dictate the weather on the seas?"

Daniel frowned again. He was not convinced yet. After all, it were the pirates that made the storms. Weren't they? Was there something the senator knew and did not tell him?

Sygra took a small locket, his hydger, that hung from his neck and looked inside it. "Oh. I am very sorry, Mr. Zacharias, but I have to end this enjoyable meeting. My presence is required elsewhere." The man got to his feet. "I wish you well, sir, and I am looking forward to meeting you again."

Daniel shook the senator's hand and watched him leave. He returned to the book, but his thoughts were not with the page. He had new things to think about. New ghosts were preparing themselves.

-=-=-

As he sipped his sturt, the hydger started rattling. Daniel put the cup down. The screen showed a black triangle and no name. The black triangle again. "Who are you and what do you want?" he chanced. He did not feel like being polite; the cloaked person had not been that either.

"My name is not important." The brushing sound was with the voice again. It was the mysterious person. "I am sorry our last meeting ended so rudely. I call concerning the capturing of the Pricosine."

This was news. "Talk. I am listening."

A waiter came and put up a privacy screen around the table.

"The deal is simple. I have a ship for you. It is small. You find people to sail it. Maybe you can find the people from the Pricosine." The brushing noise made it hard to understand the already distorted voice.

"What is this to you? Why are you after all this?" Daniel wanted to know.

"I have reasons. What do you say? Do you want the ship?" The stranger was not willing to open up. The offer was interesting, though. Daniel was dying to do something.

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. But you can. I assure you this."

"Our meeting hardly gave me reason to, you know."

There was a short silence on the end of the stranger. "I apologised for this. This is a business offer. I supply a ship. You supply a crew. Yes or no?"

"Yes." Daniel had to say it. He had to.

"Good. How long do you need to find people?"

"I don't know. A few days at least. How many people do I need to sail the boat?"

"Three. I will contact you again." The black triangle disappeared, the conversation had ended.

Daniel stared at the round display in disbelief. What was going on here, and how had he gotten into this? It was obvious he needed help now. He went through his contacts.

"Daniel, good afternoon. What's the matter, old friend?" Tomlin Barker was cheerful.

Daniel told him what had happened.

"Oh. Wow. That's quite a lot to handle, you old space rat. Never thought you would be able to ride yourself into this kind of operations." The face of his friend showed surprise and concern. "So you need three people who can do sea-things. I may know someone. Can you come to my house this evening? Around dinner time? I know you want to get going as soon as you can, but I have things at hand here, and I need to make some calls."

"I'll be there," Daniel said. "And Tomlin... Thank you. I know I am stepping out of line, dropping this on you. It's my mess, not yours."

"Shut up, Daniel. We help each other, okay? You get your butt to my house tonight and we'll talk further."

Daniel sighed as the display went grey. At least that was something. Now who the hell was this stranger? He had offered a ship. So it almost had to be a ship owner. Someone who hated Clelem, probably. But also someone who was concerned about the people on the ship. It had to be Huajo. Or perhaps the president of the Society, or someone who acted for him.