Revenge of the Catspaw Read online

  “But, I better head for the shuttle field. The mega-liner heading for ASC is in orbit, apparently, and has received whatever maintenance it needed. We who are boarding it from Trahea have to catch the shuttle in the next half-an-hour.”

  “That's right, Coryn,” Jillian agreed. “I was just going to remind you. Off you go, and do take care.”

  He grabbed his pack, gave Fiana a peck on the cheek, and waved good-bye to the rest of the staff. Jillian shook her head once the door had closed behind him.

  “I'd like to know what idiocy Marcues is up to,” she said to Fiana. “I guess I better com him, and let him know that Coryn's on the next scheduled transport. He'll probably snark at me. As if I should have made Coryn leave sooner.”

  “Don't waste your time worrying about fools,” Fiana sniffed. “Instead, shall we see if we can arrange suitable living quarters for the Ambassador Anya on the Confederation Government Space Station?”

  Karan, the employee who usually replaced Jillian when she had to be absent, walked over.

  “I can get on the com with Marcues, if neither of you want to,” she said. “According to his thinking I'm so far down on the list of the influential that it's not worth his while to snark at me. We'll waste less of everyone's time, that way.”

  **

  The mega-transports were huge ships, too big to be taken down into the gravity wells of planets, unless one, at the end of its useful life, was considered transformable scrap. That did not happen often; the behemoths appeared able to go on almost for ever, as long as they were well-maintained. Most of that maintenance was provided by the on-board crew, but every now and then ship mechanics from Space Ports or Space Stations were asked to help, and that had happened with this particular ship, this time, at the Trahea Port. Coryn, waiting to get on the shuttle which was to whisk him up, was surprised to see Joe Ashton get off it, and hailed the Ship Mechanic to come over.

  “Trouble with the space liner?” he asked the burly young man.

  “Not really,” Joe replied. “More like travelling fools complaining about trivialities, and treating the crew like dirt.”

  He pulled Coryn aside from the line-up, and out of the earshot of the others waiting to board the shuttle.

  “They're Neotsarians, I swear,” he said in a low voice, “and it seems to me that they're trying to keep the ship from leaving by making bogus complaints. The Captain of the vessel is furious, but, the way it is with these huge ships—safety before everything else. I was there to check the air recycler; not a thing wrong with it, but one of these doofuses had complained of a toxic odour in his cabin.”

  Coryn checked his time-counter.

  “Yeah, we're a bit late, already; the staff kept us waiting in the terminal building. I wondered why, usually these transports are meticulous about schedules, but was glad since it turns out that the Guru Johannes is supposed to be on this space flight, too, and he hasn't arrived, yet. I gave him a ride from Ferhil Stones but he and the Greencat went off to do something that he claimed was important, while I picked up my gear, and stopped in at the Office.

  “Ah, here they are now!”

  The white-afroed black man, and the beautiful, green-furred animal joined the two of them. The Guru seemed perfectly calm in spite of obviously having rushed to the tarmac from the terminal.

  “You were on the space-liner, were you, Joe Ashton, checking out some bogus claims of safety violations?” he asked immediately.

  Joe's eyes opened wide.

  “You know?” he asked.

  The Guru grinned at him.

  “A little while ago, I was listening to one of the three Neotsarian Elites talking on a personal com to someone or another, apparently on the transport liner, and telling them to keep the ship from leaving, by hook or by crook. The three of them were waiting for something, or some information, and couldn't leave quite yet, but claimed that it was essential that they leave on that vessel.”

  “I'm not sure that I like the sound of that,” Coryn said. “They could be looking to cause trouble aboard.”

  “Relax,” the Guru replied. “There is going to be a further delay while the three of them are subjected to a thorough search. I alerted Security.”

  His grin had grown wider.

  “I told them that the Witch Marlyss, the Eldest of the Circle of the Twelve had asked me to let them know that the three Organization Elites fitting their descriptions were under suspicion of smuggling either drugs or valuable jewels off-planet, and should be strip-searched, as well as put through an electronic imaging before they were allowed to board any leaving vehicle. Including space-liner shuttles. The security officials might, also, I suggested, spread word about the suspected crimes to other Confederation Space Ports.”

  Coryn pulled out his com.

  “I better give Fiana the heads up, and tell her to okay the Eldest's instructions if the Port Security decides to check with our Office,” he said.

  “We got the call from Port Security,” Fiana said when she took Coryn's communication. “I consulted with Jillian, and we decided that Witch Marlyss' instructions absolutely had to be honoured, that there might be safety issues involved. By the way, do you think that we ought to com Ferhil Stones to let them know what we did? I did tell Security that you were to be on the shuttle going up to the space-liner, and was heading for Station ASC at Ry Marcues' insistence, and the fellow I was talking to said that if that was so, they might just put the three Organization Elites through a few extra tests, just to be thoroughly certain that no passenger or vehicle is in danger.”

  As Coryn slipped his com back into his pocket, a Security Officer hurried to the tarmac where the dozen or so passengers were waiting to be allowed on the shuttle.

  “There will be another delay,” she told the assembled people. “This one has to do with passengers suspected of smuggling, and of possible sabotage. So for the sake of all of your safety, as well as the safety of the space transport, we're doing some thorough checks. We do apologize for all the delays, but....”

  She shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes were flitting over the scanty group of people, and stopped at the three with the cat, standing somewhat apart from the others. She walked over to them.

  “Liaison Officer Leigh, I was hoping to catch you before you boarded the shuttle. Could you, please, use your considerable talents to calm down the Ship Captain Wen, once you get on board the liner? If you could convince him that the three individuals might pose a danger to his vehicle, and that someone should keep an eye on them? The warning of a Kordean Witch is not to be taken lightly, and it is true that the Neotsarians have been audacious in their attempts to cause trouble.”

  She glanced at Guru Johannes every few moments as she spoke. Joe was watching the by-play, an amused look in his eyes; Coryn guessed that Jillian would hear quite the tale when she got home from work in the morning.

  “I think, that perhaps with the able help of Guru Johannes, here, I'll be able to do just that. I doubt that the Ship Captain is particularly happy with The Organization travellers, at the moment, anyway, judging from what Ship Mechanic Ashton just told me as to what's been happening up there.”

  “That would be about right,” Joe agreed, laconically.

  He leaned over to run a hand over the head and nape of the Greencat.

  “But, I better be going,” he added. “There are any number of vessels in the Port Maintenance, waiting for some tender care. Pity Sarah's learning to be a Witch and can't help.

  “Have a good trip, Coryn, Guru, and the Greencat. And Coryn, come back in one piece. We need you.”

  **

  Coryn, and the Guru had secured themselves into the comfortable seats of the shuttle craft, and the efficient staffer who had the responsibility for the passengers' safety was harnessing the Greencat into an oversized one next to them, when two Port Security workers ushered in the three Organization Elites. The trio looked angry and dishevelled, and the Security personnel were grim-faced as they handed them over to the
shuttlecraft's pilot.

  “You're free to leave, as soon as those three are securely belted,” the male of the Security pair said, his voice harsh. “We called the transport: they'll have an on-board security team waiting for these jokers.”

  “That bad, is it?” the shuttle pilot asked, as he directed the trio to the nearest empty seats.

  “Contraband,” the Port Security man spat out. “Lots of it. We owe the Planetary Alpha Witch thanks for fingering them. My boss is on the com to the Liaison Office even as we speak.”

  Coryn raised his brows at the Guru who grinned back at him.

  Coryn's personal com beeped. He pulled it out immediately. It had to be someone from his Office. No-one else had direct access to him at the moment—outside of Sarah who was at Ferhil Stones, and not a possibility.

  “Yes?”

  “Jillian here. The Port Security just called. They took 'snoopers' from those three Neotsarians. Along with a laser pistol, each. Plus a stash of tiger-dust, and other less disgusting drugs. And two amartos—how the hell did they get their hands on those? Fiana's on the com to Ferhil Stones right now. We thought that we better let you know before you reach the mega-ship; who knows what the Organization crooks aboard that ship are carrying? Possibly nobody has strip-searched them, and you know what a 'snooper' can do.”

  “Yeah, compromise all supposedly secure communications within reach.”

  Not that he would ever had trusted even the omega-transmitter of a space-liner to be a secure channel. He had worked too long for the Agency to underestimate the Neotsarians. But what were these ones up to? Apparently they had made certain that they were able to catch this particular mega-transport which was heading, among other places, to the Space Station ASC. Plus, they had taken advantage of the relaxed manner in which regulations were enforced in most of the Confederation ports, to haul along stuff which, of course, was confiscated the moment it was found on their persons. Why had they taken the risk?

  “The three of them must realize that they'll be security targets from now on,” he muttered to the Guru, after he had explained Jillian's call. “They have to be up to something; I just can't figure out what.”

  **

  More than just a Security Team awaited the shuttle craft's passengers. A uniformed woman accosted Coryn the moment he left the craft. He, the Guru, and the Greencat were among the last people to board the mega-liner, and the three Neotsarians were already being ushered away, on their way to be questioned by Transport Security.

  “You're Coryn Leigh, the Kordean-Confederation Liaison Officer, right?” the uniformed woman asked. Her eyes took in Coryn's companions even as she spoke. At Coryn's affirmative she added:

  “I have been instructed to bring you to Captain Wen, the moment you arrive. Sorry, the Captain wants to see you without your companions, and you won't be able to stop to drop off your luggage in your cabin.”

  “That's all right. I'm travelling light.”

  He turned to the Guru and the Greencat.

  “You know how to find your cabin?” he asked the Guru.

  “I'll get someone to direct them,” the crew woman said immediately, pulling out a com and speaking a few words into it. “This way, please, Liaison Officer Leigh.”

  With a nod to the Guru and the animal, Coryn accompanied the uniformed woman who set a fast pace. They headed for the Bridge, but Coryn guessed that their actual destination was the Captain's Office. A ship as big as this one would have a large Bridge crew, perfectly capable of handling the vessel, whether or not the Captain was present.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I've instructed Security to bring those Organization Elites to join us shortly,” Captain Wen said to Coryn as soon as the office door had shut behind the crew woman who had escorted the Liaison Officer into the Captain's presence.

  Captain Wen looked like a career officer with the transit liners. Most likely he had had the running of ships of various sizes before ending up on a mega-transport. The position of a Senior Officer on one of the big liners, Coryn had learned during earlier travels, was a job coveted by certain transport careerists, since it included the perk of quarters aboard the big ship for the Officer's family. Because the mega-transports were space-bound, their crew-members often remained aboard the ships for long periods of time without much of a break, and having one's family along was a coveted extra.

  While eyeing the Captain, Coryn noted, with a touch of inner amusement, that he had lately become very aware of how much of the human race was black-haired, even as the Captain was. Sarah and the Kordean Witches had him, now, looking for black hair, whereas in earlier life his eyes had been drawn to the lighter shades. The fairer hair colours were definitely in the minority, which might have been why blond good looks (like his own), had become highly prized.

  “It's probably not a bad idea to speak with them,” Coryn responded to the Captain's statement.

  He lay his back-pack beside the chair which Captain Wen had pointed him to, and sat down. He watched the older man circle the large desk, to sit behind it.

  “I've been advised that there have been problems between the Kordeans, and those annoying anal-retentives of The Organization space, who, even though they hold us in contempt, still choose to travel among us, using every form of transport available,” Captain Wen began.

  “You've been correctly informed,” Coryn replied. The Captain sounded testy.

  “And now it seems that those problems have spread to this ship, disturbing it's carefully timed schedule of travel among the planets and Space Stations. Plus these idiots were intending to bring sackfuls of contraband on board—and, thanks to the lax security protocols which most Ports use, would have succeeded if the Kordeans hadn't fingered them for us. Would you have any idea what they're up to, Liaison Officer Leigh?”

  “If it makes you feel any better,” Coryn said with a thin smile, “I doubt that they were planning to hijack this behemoth of a ship. Even they would recognize the ludicrousness of such a plan. However, I trust that you are having the Neotsarians (as they call themselves) who boarded before Kordea, strip-searched, and their cabins carefully checked?”

  “The Security is at it even as we talk. And I contacted the Transport Systems Head Office. I instructed them that from this moment forwards, anyone boarding a mega-transport who even is suspected of being an Organization Elite, or a flunky, has to be thoroughly searched for contraband by Port Security.”

  “A good idea,” Coryn agreed. “They'll howl, of course, especially the Elites. But if it's possible to judge the reactions of the various Port Security teams by what I heard at the Trahea Port, the personnel checking the boarders are going to love it. They'll be happy to have a valid reason to take the Hounds, and the Elite tourists, down a peg.”

  “As a travel industry veteran, I can't say that I really like making things more awkward for legitimate travellers,” Captain Wen said. “But there are risks that cannot be taken, and people bringing deadly weapons, and nasty drugs aboard passenger liners are indulging in utter foolhardiness.

  “What's going on with the Confederation-the Organization relations, anyway? I understand that the planet Kordea has become a flash-point of some kind? Something that our bureaucratic powers failed to foresee?”

  “Did you hear about the so-called Lina-caper?” Coryn asked.

  “A little. Not much. And what I heard sounded incredible.” Captain Wen shook his head. “Can't say that I really believed any of it.”

  “I suggest that you start believing,” Coryn said drily. “It's for real. The Neotsarian Elites really do want to take over Kordea, and force the Witches to put their psychic talents to work for them. They figure that with the Witches of Kordea wielding their Stone-power for their benefit, they'll be able refashion the Galaxy in their image.”

  “Come on.” Captain Wen sounded openly sceptical now. “Like the people of the Confederation would put up with The Organization's crazy, hierarchical notions!”

  “I agree that they w
ould not,” Coryn replied. “But there is incredible energy involved, energy which the Kordean Witches have never put into negative use. The Organization could do a lot of damage to the worlds and the Space Stations—and the mega-transports travelling among them—should they get control of that energy.”

  “I thought that it was the job of the Agency to keep The Organization bottled up in their corner of space,” the Captain protested.

  Coryn smiled thinly.

  “We try to do that,” he acknowledged. “However, they do manage to dribble out of the bottle. And show up on our transport ships, Space Stations, and planets. Lately, they've been trying to break open the bottle, using a combination of Kordean amarto-science, and Terran technology. The Lina-caper was an example of that, and had it succeeded, and the Witches been forced to capitulate to the Neotsarians, this ship would already be under The Organization control, and you would be bowing and scraping to some damn fool of a Neotsarian Elite.”

  He drew a breath.

  “Or else we would be in a galactic war, with the Confederation at the disadvantage of not having amarto-energies in their arsenal,” he added.

  Before Captain Wen could reply, there was a knock on the door.

  Five people entered: two burly Security guards escorting the three Neotsarian Elites. Captain Wen looked them over, noting the well-dressed but dishevelled trio's angry expressions. He gestured the older of the Security men to remain, and sent the other one to wait outside.

  “I think that three of us can handle the three of them,” he said as he did so. “Liaison Officer Leigh looks like he can handle himself, so can I, and the lady looks like she's not a fighter, unless with a weapon in hand.”

  “And they've none of those,” added the remaining Security man. “I made sure of that.”

  Evil Evella snarled at him; her husband, Geof, shushed her.

  Captain Wen looked down at the screen on his desk.