Space Pioneer 1 - 7. Chapter 7

II

Undercover Operations

The cruise vessel was granted access to Daglon. It descended and flew at a moderate speed, much like an aircraft on Earth. Jeff looked out of the panorama window and was stunned at the sight. They were crossing a densely populated area. Jeff saw cities and towns. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make out any details, but he was enjoying the view. They left the populated area and flew across woods and fields. The ship descended and steered towards a town in the distance. It slowed down and was hovering over the city. Jeff was feeling overwhelmed.

"What do you think?" Lest asked. He had joined Jeff in the lounge area of the cruise vessel.

Jeff turned around. He hadn’t heard the captain approaching.

"It’s fantastic," he said. "The city reminds me of some Asian cities, but the high towers and the buildings look even more futuristic than those cities on Earth. Is it a capital or a business center?"

Lest gave a laugh. "No, this place isn’t a real city. It’s a museum and a leisure park. It was built in the style of the old days. The name of the place is Amun," he said.

Jeff looked at Lest in disbelief and then turned back to the window. "In the style of the old days," he repeated Lest’s words.

"Yes," Lest said. "The style was modern 10,000 years ago. The place is to us most likely what the Egyptian pyramids are to the humans."

Jeff turned his head to Lest. He looked shocked. Lest patted his shoulder.

"You made a big jump, Jeff Caspar," he said. "Not only through space, but also through time in a sense."

Jeff didn’t reply. He turned back to the window instead.

"We’ll touch down at the park’s airport," Lest said. "The park is a place of major interest. We won’t attract much attention there."

The captain went back into the cockpit. The ship landed a short while later and rolled down a runway. Finally, it came to a halt in a parking lot. Lest, Corr, and Le’Ton came into the lounge. The two engineers and the doctor joined them also.

"Okay," Lest said. "We’ll get off the ship and pass the security controls together. Then you can go wherever you please. We’ll stay in touch, of course. I’ll let you know in time when we will leave the planet. I suggest we’ll gather in Amun."

The others agreed. Jeff stood at some distance, watching the men. They were excited, probably eager to meet up with relatives and friends whom they had not seen in a long time.

"Now we better get dressed," Lest said.

The men grabbed their bags that they had stored in the lounge and changed clothes. Jeff had seen them only in their space overalls. Now they were dressed in sweaters and kind of cargo pants. The men looked like ordinary human men. Lest turned to Jeff with a pile of clothes that he had taken from his bag.

"Put these on, Jeff," he said. "They’re not exactly your size. We can get you some clothes in Amun."

Jeff took the clothes from Lest’s hands. "Where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"You and I will stay in Amun, while the others go elsewhere. I’ll tell you the details later," Lest said.

Jeff took off his space overall. The Daglon men were watching him closely.

"I really can’t see where the 15% non-Daglon are," Le’Ton blurted out.

"Shut up, Le’Ton," Lest said. "Now, come on, guys, turn your eyes away and let Jeff Caspar get dressed."

The men laughed and moved towards the entrance of the ship. Jeff put on Lest’s clothes, beige cargo pants and a blue sweater. He turned around to follow the Daglon men and saw Lest, clad entirely in black, standing in the doorway and gazing at him. Their eyes met. Lest turned around abruptly and joined the others. Jeff followed him. Le’Ton opened the hatch and the crew got off the cruise vessel. Lest locked the ship and then they all headed towards the entrance of a building. Security staff had no particular interest in them. They passed the controls in just a few minutes and then they stood in a large hall. The men wished each other a nice holiday and then hurried towards the exit. Lest and Jeff remained in the hall.

"How do they get away from here?" Jeff asked.

"Air taxis," Lest replied. "They’re somewhat expensive for long-distance rides, but we’ve earned a lot of credits. We have a ship account, but each man has also his personal account. Earnings are split, you know."

Jeff nodded. "I see," he said. "What are we going to do now, captain?"

"I’ve booked a suite in one of the hotels," Lest replied. "I will meet up with my contact person in the lounge."

He motioned to Jeff to follow him. They left the hall and Lest waved for an air taxi that was hovering close by in the air. The taxi took them to a building, a high tower that looked as if it was made entirely of glass. They entered the hotel and walked to a counter. Lest spoke with the receptionist while Jeff stood idly, gazing around. Lest waved his hand and Jeff walked over. They crossed the hall and entered an elevator. Jeff told Lest that Daglon’s old days reminded him much of Earth’s most avant-garde places. Lest gave a laugh.

"I thought you’d feel comfortable here. I’m sure you will be able to deal with how things work in the leisure and history park," he said.

The elevator came to a halt. They went down a corridor and stopped in front of a room. Lest opened the door with a key card. Jeff was stunned. The suite had two bedrooms, a sitting room, a bathroom and a kitchenette. The furniture looked noble and exquisite.

"Daglon and humans have indeed much in common," he said while inspecting the rooms. "This hotel looks like a five star hotel on Earth."

"Naturally," Lest replied. "You’re 85% Daglon. I think the 15% early man are vastly suppressed, except of perhaps the fact that you need to shave more often and the body hair I saw on your chest."

Jeff stopped short in his movement and turned his eyes to Lest. Lest was smiling broadly.

"Excuse me a minute, please, Lest," Jeff said, heading for the bathroom.

Lest’s smile vanished.

He was standing in one of the bedrooms when Jeff came back and was focusing on his neural intercom. Lest gave Jeff a sulky look and closed the door. Jeff looked at the door and shook his head. He sat down on the couch and paged through what was probably the menu of the hotel’s restaurant. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to read it, although he had started to learn the Daglon language. Jeff threw the brochure on the table, just when Lest entered the room.

Lest pointed at the menu. "Are you hungry? Try with this," he said, taking a device from a sideboard and handing it to Jeff. "You can activate it here. It will connect with your neural implant and show you images of the meals." Lest didn’t sound exactly cheerful, but his bad mood had luckily gone.

"Thanks," Jeff said. He took the device, but didn’t activate it. "What do you have in mind, Lest? What’s going on here?" he asked.

Lest sat down. "I’m busy arranging things, Jeff," he said. "I have a contact on Daglon, a man with many connections. He’s my former trainer, a very respectable man. I trust he won’t inform the authorities of me and my crew being here. He owes me a favor. It’s a personal thing, but it has nothing to do with the war."

"Which war?" Jeff asked.

"The war the Daglon conducted against Aenes, the sixth planet of the solar system. The Daglon were after rare raw materials. I told you the Alliance controls the market. The Alliance is a union of 29 space-faring nations. It has enormous economical and political power. The price of the ore is held up artificially. The material is even more expensive on Cyrus. That’s why the Daglon decided to wage war. The unwise act cost them label A as a species. They have only recently regained A status, mainly because of transferring large sums of credits to Aenes, the planet they had attacked, and as well to the Alliance," Lest said.

"Why has the Alliance not yet shut down Cyrus?" Jeff asked.

Lest made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Individual motives. Alliance officials run their own shady business and undercover operations on Cyrus," he said.

Jeff nodded. "And what was your role in that war?" he asked.

Lest leaned back. "I think you can figure it out by now. I deserted. I fled with the crew and the ship," he said. "We’ve found our place in space, like many others. I run my own business and the others have a share in it. Like I said, earnings are split."

"Are you a raider, a smuggler, or what?" Jeff asked, leaning back in his chair.

Lest smiled. "Not exactly," he replied. "Yes, I operate in a gray area mostly. Most operations are legal, but sometimes I must in fact switch to the illegal side, if an operation requires it, that is. However, no murder, no killing, if not in a true fight."

Jeff crossed his arms and turned his eyes away. The captain had admitted what Jeff had already figured out. Lest’s operations were at least partly criminal. Jeff looked at Lest. Lest was studying him.

"How long have you been operating in space?" Jeff asked.

"Twelve years," Lest said. He paused. "How old are you, Jeff?" he asked.

"I’m thirty," Jeff said.

Lest smiled briefly. "I’m thirty-two," he said. He rose to his feet and moved to the window.

"I will meet up with my contact person in short. I suspect the man wants to see you, Jeff. Would this be all right with you?" he asked, turning back to Jeff.

Jeff shrugged. What was he supposed to answer? He didn’t know the man nor had Lest told him more of his plans.

"We must arrange the funeral of my comrades," he said instead.

"I will discuss this with the man also," Lest replied.

Lest smiled briefly, then went into the bathroom and closed the door. Jeff heard him shower. A short while later, Lest came back into the sitting room.

"I’m going down to the lounge now," he said.

Jeff watched Lest leave, then sat motionless for a minute, wondering again what was going on. Lest had something in mind, some secret undercover plan, and there wasn’t much Jeff could do but wait until Lest would tell him about it. Jeff focused on his neural implant and connected with the language database. He found he could as well work on refining the language instead of just sitting around, feeling worried and bored.

An hour later, Lest returned in company of an older man. The man looked at Jeff curiously and reached out his hand.

"I’m Ezer Malk. I feel honored to meet you, Jeff Caspar," he said.

Jeff greeted him. Ezer Malk turned to Lest.

"Now I understand that choice of yours," Ezer Malk said. A brief mocking smile crossed his face.

Lest narrowed his eyes, but didn’t reply. He turned around and walked to the mini-bar. Jeff looked between the two men in confusion. Ezer Malk turned to Jeff and smiled cordially.

"You look very much Daglon indeed. I tend to believe that what Lest told me is true. What is the name of your planet?"

Lest interrupted him. "Why don’t we sit down and talk things over," he said.

He pointed at the couch and the chairs. The others sat down. Lest placed three glasses and a bottle on the table. He sat down as well and poured them drinks. Ezer Malk leaned back, crossed his arms and looked between Jeff and the captain.

"Captain Lest told me you’re having problems. He asked my help and I will do what I can," Ezer Malk said finally. "We can store your ship in Amun. The place is a leisure park, but also a museum that keeps many artifacts. Your ship will fit in well, I think. I very much would like to see it."

"The Daidalos was a very modern spaceship on Earth, but I fear the ship is just an artifact in your eyes," Jeff said. "It’s on board of the cruise vessel."

"Is it that small a ship?" Ezer asked with a puzzled look.

"Yes," Jeff replied. "The Daidalos is a small spaceship, just as it was intended to be."

"Ah, a short-distance shuttle, I see," Ezer said. "The elders used them also. I think it would perfectly fit in one of the museums. Lest said you didn’t want to attract attention. I understand perfectly. This is not an official contact between species. You’re kind of stranded in space, I heard."

"This is true," Jeff simply said.

Lest explained in more detail what had happened.

"Most unfortunate," Ezer said. "But you were lucky. Many lone spaceships wouldn’t take strangers on board. It’s something I do not approve of, but each captain must judge a situation on his own. Each situation is different. Anyway, I heard your crew members died. I certainly can arrange an honorable funeral."

Ezer turned to Lest. "There’s a military cemetery in the Beliad region. It was used in the old days, but it’s still taken care of. This would be a good place, I think," he said.

Lest nodded and turned to Jeff. "The Beliad region is borderland," he explained. "The frontier doesn’t officially exist anymore because the Daglon states united about 2,500 years ago, but the borderland is still a thinly populated area. The old cemetery is located there."

"I suggest we unload the spaceship tomorrow. I’ll talk with the manager of the museum. He’ll help us with the operation," Ezer said.

"Are you sure he won’t inform the press?" Jeff asked.

"Feed the news channels on the intercom," Lest explained.

"Ah," Ezer replied. "No, he won’t. You must know that I fund this museum, Jeff."

Jeff gave a laugh. "I think it’s just about the same everywhere in the galaxy."

Ezer smirked. "Evolution follows the same paths throughout the universe, it seems,"

"We could fly to the Beliad region tomorrow," Lest suggested.

Ezer agreed. "We can spend the night in the Beliad region and we’ll arrange the funeral at dawn," Ezer said. He looked at Jeff. "We must make this somewhat secret. Dawn is a good time. There won’t be any spectators around at this time of the day."

Jeff nodded, although he wasn’t entirely convinced of the idea. An undercover operation was not exactly what he had in mind.

Ezer gave him a sympathetic smile. "Early morning is a good time for a funeral in the Beliad region. Time and place are well chosen, Jeff. You will see that dawn is just fine."

Jeff smiled briefly. He took his glass and emptied it. "Okay, I must trust your advice. There’s not much else I can do anyway," he said.

"There’s something else I want to discuss," Lest said. "I have a plan, an operation that I guess will be of interest to you, Ezer."

***