The Star Cross (13 page)

“Is there
someone on Kubitz we can contact about buying the entire group?” asked Kurt. He
didn’t want any humans to be sold into slavery.

The Controller
hesitated for a moment and then pressed an icon on his computer screen. A small
disk popped out. “This will explain who you need to contact. I assume Profiteer
Grantz is acting as your guide and advisor in this?”

“Yes,” Kurt
answered. He took out the contract Grantz had signed from his pocket and handed
it to the Controller.

The Controller
examined it for a moment. He then passed a wand over it, scanning the
information into his computer. “The contract is valid and has been recorded.”
He then passed the contract back to Kurt. “Will your ships be traveling to
Kubitz?”

“Yes,” Kurt
replied evenly. “I understand a fee is involved in that.”

“Yes,” the
Controller replied. He checked his computer once more and then looked over at
Kurt. “The fee for all five of your ships will be 220,000 credits.”

Kurt opened
the small case he had brought and placed one of the gold bars on the Controller’s
desk. When he did, he noticed the Controller’s eyes widen.

The Controller
ran another device over the gold bar and then nodded in satisfaction. “This bar
is worth 320,000 credits. I assume you want the extra credited to your
account?”

Kurt nodded
and then spent the next few minutes answering more questions and setting up the
account. Just as they prepared to leave, Kurt paused and asked the Controller
if he could purchase more of the universal translators. In the end, he ended up
depositing the other bar of gold as well and left the Controller’s office with
ten more of the valuable devices.

“This is why
you didn’t want us coming to the station,” said Kurt, looking accusingly at
Grantz, as they walked down a large corridor. Numerous other humanoids were
also in the corridor, hurrying to wherever.

“Yes,”
admitted Grantz reluctantly, letting out a deep breath. “I had hoped it would
gain me more gold, if I were your only source of communication.”

“These
translators will be highly useful,” Lieutenant Tenner said, touching the one
hanging from his neck. “I would like to give several of them to my team, so
they can better study what’s going on in this system. We should now be able to
understand their broadcasts and any messages the
Star Cross
intercepts.”

“We can do
that,” Kurt replied, as they exited a hatch and stepped into the landing bay. “Have
your team gather as much information as possible.”

Grantz led
them to where the shuttle was parked, and, in a short time, they were back on board
the
Star Cross
.

“Set course
for Kubitz,” Kurt ordered, as he stepped into the Command Center. “It’s time to
get our people back.”

-

The
Star
Cross
and her small fleet slid into orbit ten thousand kilometers above
Kubitz. The planet was slightly larger than Earth but of less density. The
gravity was nearly Earth normal, but its day was only twenty-two hours’ long.

“What the hell
happened to the planet?” asked Captain Randson, gazing at Kubitz on the main
viewscreens. The plant’s atmosphere looked to be heavily polluted with plumes
of brown and gray.

“Heavy
industry,” replied Grantz, shifting his eyes to the viewscreen. “The main
sections of the cities have environmental domes over them to protect them from
the acid rain and other extreme weather that occurs from time to time. One area
on the planet is under strict and very expensive weather control, where crops
and food animals are raised.”

“What now?”
asked Kurt, glancing over at the Profiteer. He had already discussed some of
this with Grantz earlier, but he wanted to go over it again.

“We go on the
planet,” Grantz began. “We’ll need to deposit some gold at the Controller
exchange office at the spaceport. They’ll give us a computer card we can use for
purchases. We can also rent a vehicle to take us around.”

“What about
armed escorts?” asked Andrew, expecting Grantz to say no once again. From what
Grantz had been saying, the planet was a particularly dangerous place with a
lot of unscrupulous humanoids taking advantage of the unwary. Andrew also knew
that, somewhere down on the planet, were his wife and daughter.

“I would
highly recommend it,” answered Grantz, looking over at Captain Randson. “The
planet has a police force called Enforcers. They normally stay out of sight,
unless a problem arises. Once word spreads that you deposited a significant
amount of gold, some curious people may want to see just who you are. Most of
the client races who visit Kubitz have an armed escort to ensure their safety.”

“Get a squad
of Marines ready,” Kurt ordered. “Armed with pistols only.”

“We may have a
problem,” muttered Grantz, looking with concern at a large cylinder-shaped ship
on one of the viewscreens. Several other smaller ships were around it. “That’s
a Dacroni battleship with a Profiteer battlecruiser and several other ships. If
I had to guess, they just arrived from Earth.”

“You said the
Kubitz government would ensure there are no problems,” said Kurt, as he studied
the ships and wondered if they could be a threat to his fleet.

“There won’t
be while we’re in orbit,” Grantz answered uneasily. “But, down on the surface,
it will be a different matter altogether. They may try to find out what we’re
doing here.”

Kurt looked
over at Andrew; Kurt really needed the captain to stay on the
Star Cross
and keep an eye on things. But then again, how could he order the captain not
to go to Kubitz to find his wife and daughter?

“Lieutenant
Mays, you have command. If there are any problems, contact me immediately.”

“Yes, sir,”
replied the tactical officer, as she got up and took the command chair.

Kurt had
handed out several of the small universal translators to the command crew—Lieutenant
Mays, Lieutenant Brooks, and Ensign Pierce at Communications.

“If things go
south, don’t try to rescue us,” ordered Kurt. “Just get the hell out of here
and report back to Newton. Tell Rear Admiral Wilson what happened.”

As Kurt left
the Command Center, he just hoped they all made it back safely. They were about
to step foot on an alien world where hundreds of different species conducted
business. From what Grantz had told them, it was a dangerous place where deals
for almost anything, both legal and illegal, could be made for the right price.
Grantz had also mentioned that it wasn’t too unusual for people to vanish and
never be heard from again.

-

It didn’t take
them long to take a shuttle and fly to one of the many spaceports on Kubitz,
but the one they were landing at was the closest to where the slave auction
would be held. As soon as they arrived, Kurt, Captain Randson, Lieutenant
Tenner, Grantz, and their six Marine escorts left the shuttle. A pilot and two
other Marines stayed on board.

“This is a
gloomy place,” commented Andrew, as they walked toward the large building that
Grantz had indicated contained the Controller facilities. Around them vehicles
flew by and even a few work robots were in view. Vehicles pulling heavily loaded
trailers headed toward waiting shuttles and ships.

“Pollution,”
replied Grantz, as he led them around several humanoids, arguing about how to
load a trailer with a number of large and differently shaped crates. “Years and
years of it.”

Kurt looked up,
and he could barely see the sun. Kubitz was the fourth planet out from its
primary, and he was amazed at how much of the sunlight was blotted out. He knew
sadly that Earth, in some ways, might someday resemble Kubitz if more wasn’t
done to stop pollution. Several efforts to curb greenhouse gases and end the
use of fossil fuels were well underway, or they had been until the Profiteers
had attacked.

Grantz led
them into the large building, and shortly they were in a room with another
Controller and two Lylan Enforcers. Their Marine escort had been asked to
remain outside, which had made Sergeant Jones protest. Grantz had explained
that armed escorts were not allowed inside the actual offices of the
Controllers on Kubitz. With a frown, Sergeant Jones had relented. Two of the Marines
left their weapons outside to allow them to carry inside the office a small
crate they had brought along.

Kurt couldn’t
help but notice the heavy weapons the two Enforcers were armed with. Each had
some sort of rifle that obviously shot some type of energy beam, plus a large
pistol attached to the wide belt at their waist. Kurt decided to ask Grantz
about the weapons later.

“How may I
help you?” asked the Controller, looking curiously at the group before him.

“We wish to
make a deposit to do business on Kubitz,” Kurt explained without preamble. He
was a little surprised to see that this Controller also had the same pale skin
as the ones he had seen on the outer station.

“How large a
deposit?” asked the Controller in a bored voice.

Kurt gestured
to the Marines, who were carrying the small crate between them. They sat it on
the Controller’s desk, causing it to creak from the weight, and then Kurt slowly
opened the lid.

The
Controller’s eyes grew wide when he saw the bars of gold. “Where did you say
you were from?” he asked, rising to his feet and taking one of the bars from
the crate.

“Earth,” Kurt
answered.

The Controller
scanned the gold bar, using the same type of device as the Controller at the space
station had. He gestured for one of the Enforcers to step forward and
instructed him to get a cart to move the gold. The Enforcer quickly left and shortly
returned with a small heavily built cart that the Controller slowly placed the
bars of gold on, as he carefully scanned each one.

“I make it
twenty-four million credits,” he said, as he scanned the last one. “You’re
aware that High Profiteer Creed has claimed Earth and its wealth as his?”

“Yes,” Grantz
replied. “However, while these humans are originally from Earth, they reside on
a small colony world called Newton. This gold was removed from Earth before
High Profiteer Creed officially made his claim.”

“That’s no
concern of mine,” answered the Controller dismissively. “The gold is in your possession,
and that’s good enough by the laws Kubitz applies to such things. How would you
like this credited to your account? Do you want some of it in actual credit
notes?”

“Yes,” Grantz quickly
answered. “We would like two hundred thousand in credit notes, and the rest
deposited into our account. We have already set up an account on the station.”

“So I see,”
answered the Controller, as he checked his computer.

He quickly entered
some information on his screen and then walked over to a door made of a heavy
shiny metal with a DNA lock. The Controller placed his hand upon the sensor and
spoke a short sentence. With several loud clicks, the door swung open. Stepping
inside, he soon returned, carrying several small bundles of credit notes.

Taking his time,
he slowly counted out the credits. He also handed Kurt a small computer disk with
a record of their account and which could be used to withdraw whatever funds
were needed.

“If I can be
of any further assistance, don’t hesitate to stop by,” the Controller said when
they were finished.

“We will,” responded
Kurt, as they turned and left the office. Once they were outside and no longer
in hearing distance of the Enforcers, Kurt turned toward Grantz. “Why did you
insist on so much cash?”

“Bribes,” answered
Grantz with a conniving grin. “People seem to talk a little better, if their
palms are well greased.”

“What now?”
asked Lieutenant Tenner.

“We find a
suitable vehicle and then go search for the individual responsible for
auctioning off your people,” Grantz answered. “We already know that it’s a
group which represents Marsten’s interests.” He took out the small disk the
Controller on the station had given them. “From the information on this disk we
at least know where to start.”

“So how do we
find out who we need to contact?” asked Andrew, looking over at Grantz, growing
impatient.

“This is Kubitz,
and everything is for sale for the right amount of credits, particularly information.”

“It makes
sense, considering how their culture is based,” commented Lieutenant Tenner,
nodding at Grantz. “I’ve examined the disk, and it tells exactly where our people
are held, as well as the Marstens holding them. They will not agree to see us
unless we go through a few channels. It’s just their way of doing business.”

Kurt let out a
deep sigh, looking around the spaceport, he could see dozens of shuttles landing
and taking off. Even a few larger spacecraft were evident. He paused for a moment,
thinking about all the diverse technology visible to him. They had a lot more
gold on the cargo ship under heavy guard. He wondered just what all was
available for purchase here. One of his directives from President Mayfield and
Fleet Admiral Tomalson was to secure a defense system for Newton. Before they
left the Kubitz System, Kurt was determined to see what other weapons systems
might be available. If Grantz had told them the truth, everything was for sale here
for the right price, including military weapons of every type. There was a
chance Kurt might find something useful to use against the Profiteers orbiting
Earth.

-

Up in orbit,
the Dacroni battleship
Rellal
, along with a Profiteer battlecruiser, two
escorts, a cargo ship, and two detainee ships had witnessed the arrival of the
human vessels.

“Humans from Earth,”
Dalet said, the battleship’s second in command.

“An
interesting development,” responded Second Clan Leader Castel. “The same
battlecruiser was present when we retook the Earth System from the humans.”