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WOLFEYE
By Donald H Sullivan
Wolfeye looked up at Her Imperial Majesty, Most Sublime Ruler, The Glorious Empress Marlena of The Great Galactic Empire of Zhamon. Wolfeye had climbed a flight of half a hundred stairs--prodded on by a squad of Imperial guards armed with swords. They were not carrying beamers since The Empress allowed no firearms in her presence.
He now stood on a wide platform which formed a semi-circle around and seven steps below the throne upon which The Empress sat. Fitting her majesty, the room was enormous, high-ceilinged, made of rose-colored marble and bright with the light of a brilliant overhead sun glaring through tall windows and a wide skylight. Wolfeye looked up at The Empress. She was not at all as she was depicted on holovision. She was about fifty, he guessed. She had aged well, but she was not a beautiful woman. Her dark, piercing eyes gazed down at him..
Though chained and manacled, Wolfeye stood erect before The Empress as the guards went to their knees. He felt the point of a sword in his back.
"On your knees, dog."
"Leave him be," commanded The Empress. "He is an Earth man and a pirate, and knows no better. We will teach him manners later, but right now I want to talk with him."
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty." The guard went back to his knees.
"You may rise," said The Empress. The guards stood up, but still with heads bowed.
"So you are the notorious space pirate, Captain Wolfeye," she said, in a voice almost deep enough to be a man's. "You have preyed upon my ships for too long now. I sent out an entire squadron of twenty ships, with my best intelligence agents, given the sole mission of capturing or killing you. Even then, it took them nearly five years to get you."
Wolfeye returned her steady gaze unflinchingly. "They still would not…"
"Silence!" a guard shouted. "Speak only when The Empress commands you."
Empress Marlena held up her hand. "Let him speak."
"They still would not have caught us if they had not used some infernal device that killed my engines. The device, whatever it was, also rendered our beamers useless." He smiled. "But before they got me, my sword sent a good many of them to meet their gods."
Her face remained passive. "You speak of the null-E beam, recently developed by my scientists," she said. She went on. "My original intention in going to such lengths to have you captured was to personally see you hang. However, a recent event has caused me to change my mind."
Wolfeye noticed a change of expression on her face; he couldn't tell if it was anger or sadness. "My daughter, Princess Ezina has been kidnapped. I want you to rescue her."
Wolfeye was taken aback. "Me? Why in creation do you choose me for such a mission? Surely you have personnel in your forces who are trained for such tasks. And what makes you think I, a pirate and therefore an enemy of The Crown, would accept such a mission?"
"You are a most resourceful man, Captain Wolfeye. I have been sending my best elite forces out to get you for many years, and you have made them look like fools. Not until we developed the null-E beam were we able to catch you. And I suspect that if you had known about the beam, you would have found a way to evade it."
Wolfeye nodded. "It caught us by surprise, but if only I had known..."
She interrupted. " I have sent a team to rescue Ezina, but they were wiped out. I could send an invasion fleet which could easily capture Mars, the planet where she is being held, but her abductors would kill her. I also cannot pay the ransom for her return, for their demand is outrageous. She is being held by the rebel leader Konivus, who demands that I abdicate the throne and cede all of my territories to him.
"He claims that he will keep me and my daughter under house arrest, where we will be allowed to live a 'life of luxury.' I might be tempted to meet his demands to get my precious daughter back, but if I were to do so, I have no doubt that Konivus would have both me and Ezina beheaded."
Wolfeye had dealt with Konivus before, and he knew that the rebel leader was a scurrilous knave, completely without honor. Even though Wolfeye had lived a life of piracy--he and his kind flouted the laws of The Empress--but they were not without honor. The Empress was right in rejecting the rebel leader's demands. She had but two choices: She could give in to Konivus, thus risking the lives of both her and her daughter, or she could sacrifice the life of her daughter to keep her empire.
Obviously, she hoped that he, Wolfeye, would somehow help her to both regain her daughter and to keep her empire. He sensed that he, a lawless pirate, held the upper hand over Her Imperial Majesty, Most Sublime Ruler, The Glorious Empress Marlena of The Great Galactic Empire of Zhamon. And he would take full advantage of this situation to see what he could gain for himself and his crew.
In a face-off with The Empress, Wolfeye was at a disadvantage. The Empress sat above him so that he, as well as anyone who stood before Her Majesty, would have to look up at her. Her throne appeared to be of solid gold, bedecked with emeralds and rubies. Her crown sparkled with encrusted jewels. She wore a silken royal purple robe embroidered with intricate gold and silver designs.
Ordinarily, Wolfeye prided himself on his dashing appearance, but felt disheveled before The Empress. He wore the traditional pirate garb: brief shorts of animal skin, and above that a wide belt around his waist with a large gold buckle. A beamer holster on his right hip was attached to a second belt running diagonally across his Herculean chest.. A wide shoulder strap was slung across his right shoulder which supported a scabbard on his left hip. He wore soft leather boots, and a red cloak showed his rank of pirate captain.
Although he was a chained captive, he was determined to present as commanding appearance as possible. He crossed his arms and stood with head high and feet apart. His tall, powerful frame, bronze complexion, and black curly hair reflected his Polynesian heritage. "To rescue Princess Ezina would be an extremely perilous mission," he said. "What would I and my crew have to gain?"
The Empress did not hesitate. "You and your crew will be granted total amnesty for every crime you have ever committed against The Crown." A subtle smile played on her lips. "I realize that you live a rather luxurious life from your piracy, and that you would not be prepared to earn such a lucrative living in honest endeavors."
He admired the empress for her bluntness. In spite of himself, he smiled and bowed.
"Therefore, as further incentive, I will make you governor of Planet Earth, your native world, and bring home the current governor, who is a Zhamonian." She shook her head. "For reasons that I do not understand, Earthlings consider you a hero."
Her offer was generous. Had she let him name his payment for such a mission, it would not have been nearly as costly to her. She had made an offer that he couldn't refuse. She must truly love her daughter to give up so much.
"Will you place your Imperial seal on a written agreement witnessed by the Twelve Priests Of The Imperial Galactic Court?"
Again, she did not hesitate. "I will. And will you place your blood oath on the same document?"
He was somewhat taken aback that The Empress knew of this oath of pirates. When a pirate nicks his thumb and presses it against a written agreement, it is a blood oath that cannot be broken.
"I will."
"Then it's settled," she said. "Let me know what you will need to carry out the mission."
"For starters," he said, "I will need your techs to install a teleporter on my ship."
***
Back aboard his ship, The Serpent, he called his crew of a dozen men together.
"You scoundrels are wondering why in tarnation you weren't hanged, and why you were allowed to come back to The Serpent. Well, me buckos, I made a deal with The Empress, and we're heading for Mars to free Princess Ezina."
After the uproar caused by his statement died down, Wolfeye explained in detail what had happened, including the payment for this venture. This announcement caused another uproar, only this one was of approval.
"It's gonna be great to settle into a life of luxury and grow fat," said the first mate, Hook, "but I'll miss the times we had chasing down the merchant ships--and being chased by the Imperial navy."
"Not me," said Snake, a crewman. "I'll be too busy with the women and booze to miss anything."
Doc, an ex-medic, spoke up. "Yeah, but it won't be easy to rescue The Princess. Konivus is one tough customer, and he's smart. He's a mean ripper that'll slit your gizzard in an eyeblink. We'll need to be on our toes."
"We're not gonna confront him," said Wolfeye, "we're gonna join him...or at least make him think we are. The word is out that he's recruiting any warm body available into his army, including outlaws, so we should have no trouble. My plan is simple. All you crew members have to do is to turn yourselves over to Konivus and sign up for his force. I've got special plans for myself, which none of you need worry about."
"What if he has us make a blood oath?" Said Snake. "And how are we gonna get back to The Serpent if we're under his control?"
"Konivus has his recruits to sign their name in blood, but it's not the true blood oath of pirates. He draws your blood with a needle, puts it in a pen, then has you sign your name with it. That's binding on Konivus' home world of Mars, but not with pirates. As for getting back to the ship, The Empress was kind enough to lend us a teleporter.
"The teleporter booth is installed in the secret compartment of The Serpent. The ship will remain in orbit while we're on the ground, and Konivus' Inspectors are sure to give our ship a thorough going over. Our secret compartment is detection-proof, so they won't be able to find the teleporter.
"A small device, about half the size of your thumbnail, that will stay constantly linked with the teleporter will be issued to each of you. Keep the link on your person at all times, and when the time comes, I'll activate the controlling device--which I'll keep with me--that will teleport all of us back to the ship. As soon as the link touches your skin, it will automatically attune itself to your body. The process will take about ten minutes."
"Cap'n I can implant the link under the skin of each member," said Doc, "and that way they'll be sure not to lose it, even if they get roaring drunk--which they're sure to do."
Wolfeye chuckled. "Good idea, Doc. I was thinking of hiding it in their earrings, but your way is better."
The meeting ended, and the crew began returning to their duties.
Doc approached Wolfeye. "Do you want your link implanted, Cap'n?"
"No need, Doc. I have mine tucked in a hidden pouch on my belt, along with an extra link for The Princess. The control device is hidden in another belt pouch.
"Aye, Cap'n." Doc turned and left.
"Cap'n, I'm curious," said the first mate. "What's in that crate that you brought aboard? I had it stowed away in the ship's secret compartment as you ordered. Is it a component of the teleporter?"
"I'll tell you and the others what it is when the time comes. But until then, I'm keeping it under wraps. So just forget about it."
***
As the ship approached Mars, Wolfeye had the comm team to send out the truce signal. Moments later Wolfeye established contact with Konivus.
"What do you want, Wolfeye?"
"I've decided to join up with you, Konivus."
After a pause, Konivus replied, "Why the sudden decision to join me--and what makes you think I'll accept you?"
"The Empress has half her damn navy after me now. It's becoming less profitable to do business these days. Whether or not you accept me is entirely up to you. But I do think I can be a great asset to you with my knowledge of the Imperial fleet.."
There was a pause of a few seconds. "Very well. I think you know the routine. Leave your ship in orbit, and you and your men come down in a lander. You are to land in an area designated by the port commander. Bring no firearms with you; only swords and knives are permitted. You will be issued beamers when I feel that you are ready."
"Aye, General. We're preparing the lander to come down."
While descending in the lander, Wolfeye noted that the city of Rynn, Konivus' stronghold, was located at the edge a large expanse of hilly plains. To the west a range of mountains rose, and to the south a heavily forested area, where lay the ruins of another large city. Wolfeye guessed that it was the ancient city of Cali, which was built during the early colonization of Mars, right after the terraforming of the planet.
If he had to make a run for it, he thought, Cali would be an ideal place to go. Lots of places for a fugitive to hide.
***
Wolfeye was met as he stepped from the lander and escorted directly to the headquarters of General Konivus. The crew was taken to the induction center to be sworn in and trained as soldiers in The Rebel Army.
He was led into Konivus' office, and after the two exchanged greetings, he was seated. He noted that the rebel leader, a short, stocky black man, was dressed in a rather flashy uniform sporting five stars on his collar. So, Wolfeye thought, Konivus had made himself a five-star general. Actually Konivus had served as a colonel in the Imperial Army of The Empress, but after deserting and organizing a rebellion against The Crown, he promoted himself to General.
At the outset, Wolfeye had thoughts about joining the rebels, but knowing Konivus to be a scurrilous scumbag, he decided he'd stick to piracy.
"I've heard much about you, Wolfeye, and I'll confess that I've followed your exploits and have had a dossier made up on you."
That gave Wolfeye pause. Wonder if he knows of my capture--if he does, we're cooked. He grinned. "I had no idea I was so famous. In my profession being famous can be a liability. But at any rate, I feel flattered that the celebrated General Konivus would see fit to keep a dossier on me."
continued on page 2
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