Ted R. Blasingame's Fictional Life   "Never lose your sense of wonder and imagination."

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TREASURE HUNT 2

THE DAUGHTERS OF HERDANTES

©1992 by Ted R. Blasingame

Chapter 4

“Rojur Delondin?” Merlin repeated. “That name sounds familiar.” He thought a moment and then lifted an eyebrow. “He was the civilian passenger on that mission to the Railon Cluster when your crew of the Zephyr mutinied, wasn’t he?”

Kehtan nodded. “One of them, yes. What else do you know of him?”

“Not much, really. In my research, it only mentioned him as being a representative from the Dunkn Shipyards to be an observer on the vessel’s maiden flight. I understand he made his report personally to Rayce Santrojur after the ship’s return, but nothing else of note was in the official records.”

“You seem well-informed. When did you last look at these records?”

“Late last night, actually,” Merlin answered. “I had the data transmitted to my remote so I would be up to date on my information today.”

“Your information isn’t complete, but close enough that you know who I refer to.”  Kehtan smiled to himself and added, “He is Roswein.”

Merlin jumped to his feet. “R-Roswein?” he stuttered in shock. “I just revealed myself to you and now you’re going to turn me in to a member of my own sadistic race?”

“Calm down, Sinclair. Rojur Delondin is sympathetic to your condition, I assure you. From him, you have nothing to fear if your motives are sincere.”

“They are.” Merlin sat down slowly, unsure how to gauge the captain’s words. He drew his black bag to him once again. “All right,” he said, “please put me in contact with this Delondin. How much is this information going to cost me?”

Kehtan ran his fingers through his thinning hair and answered, “I don’t need your money, Sinclair. All I ask is that you allow me to accompany you when you meet with him.”

Merlin frowned. “Done.  May I ask why?”

“I have a business proposition for him and this seems like an ideal time to approach him with it.”

“My reason to find him may interrupt your business need, Captain.” Merlin saw Jesse step back into the room and stare at him quietly. He forgot his thoughts for a moment as he marveled at such a creature. He had never seen one before.

“Perhaps it will be the other way around,” Kehtan said cryptically. “That’s why I’m not charging you for the information.”

Merlin looked back to his host and nodded. “How soon can we get started?”

“Two days. I have to contact Mr. Delondin first to arrange your interview, and then secure a transport to get us there. I also have to arrange someone to care for Jesse while I’m away.”

“Where are we going?”

“Earth. Have you ever been there?”

“Never.”

Kehtan stood up and motioned Merlin to do the same. “I have a guest room you may use while you’re here. If you’ll follow me, you can get settled in.” 

* * * 

Kehtan closed the communication link and settled back in his study chair. The past two days had been productive. Not only had he convinced Rojur to grant Sinclair an audience, he had secured first class accommodations for the five-day journey to Earth and had prepared the material he would need for his business proposition. The retired captain moved across the room to a massive molecular safe. He keyed in the sixteen-digit combination and then opened the heavy door. Many items of high value were inside, but what he chose appeared to be nothing more than an old wooden box.

He closed the door and reset the code. With careful reverie, he placed the box on his desktop and opened the lid. Inside were twelve icosahedron crystals that sparkled translucent blue under the room lights.

Kehtan held one up for a close inspection. This gem had a crack in one faceted surface. It was the first one he had acquired. He returned it to the box and then picked up a grey suitcase from the floor. He placed it on the desk beside the wooden case and opened it.

One by one, the captain took the crystals and placed them inside a previously prepared egg-crate foam receptacle. When all twelve were in place, he took a plastic panel and set it on top of the gems. He locked the false bottom to the case and then set the original wooden box on the floor beneath the desk. Once done, he took the luggage to his bedroom to finish packing for the trip. 

* 

Merlin Sinclair slept quietly in his bunk on the interstellar transport, though his mind was far from still. He dreamed of a time fifteen years earlier, when an accident had crippled him for life… 

* 

His seventeenth birthday would be in a few days, the age at when a Roswein youth became a legal adult, and a certain lifelong friend wanted to celebrate early. Her name was Viki Crandall, a stunning woman only a few months older. Her turquoise hair was silky and Merlin had always loved running his fingers through it. They had grown up together and were the best of friends. This afternoon, they planned to become more than friends.

Merlin had picked her up in his new Altair 4000, a gift from his parents. It was the sleekest vehicle available and Viki was more that impressed. They took turns driving it, and when Viki had taken them outside the city, an impish smile was on her lips. The vehicle moved under her direction and shortly arrived at the abandoned facility of Feldman Tech, a shipbuilding concern that had shut its doors a year earlier. Viki stopped the vehicle in the back, out of sight from the nearby road.

“Why are we here?” Merlin asked.

Viki cast him a seductive glance. “Well, it’s secluded and it isn’t likely we’ll be interrupted here.”

Merlin grinned and took her hand as they left the vehicle. They crawled in through a broken window, careful of the glass shards, and found themselves in a large shop filled with massive presses and other devices of manufacture.

Sunlight from the window streamed in and fell upon the flat stamping pad of a huge press. Viki removed her jacket and brushed thick dust from a surface that had not been cleaned in ages. “This looks like an ideal spot,” she said after a couple of coughs. Merlin looked around at the machinery. His imagination played with the deep shadows and he felt himself shudder.

Viki must have noticed his anxiety. “There's no power, Merlin,” she reassured him. “Look.” She moved to the stamping press’ control panel and pressed all the buttons. She turned a large dial all the way up and then she threw the main power switch. Other than the sharp clunk of the switch that made Merlin jump, there was no other sound in the place.

“See?” she said. “Nothing to worry about.”

Merlin smiled and took her in his arms. They kissed long and passionately, their small gasps for air the only noises heard. Merlin slid his arms beneath her red blouse, but she grasped his hands and pushed them away.

“Not yet,” she giggled. “Let me excite you first!”

Merlin laughed. “Pushing me away will excite me?”

“No,” Viki purred, “but a slow exotic dance might!”  She turned and jumped up on the stamping bed. “Hum for me, Merlin. Hum Sarelli's Merchants Dance of Spring for me!”

Merlin began humming the tune at which Viki began to dance. It was a song from long ago that suggested exotic practices and Merlin knew it well. Through the rhythm of his humming, Viki danced and slinked before him as she slowly peeled away her garments in seductive motion. It was working. Merlin’s senses were swimming as his hormones grew excited and heated his blood. She continued to dance before him, though his humming had faded away to nothing as his attention was fixed solely upon her curvaceous form. She laughed at his expression and tossed away the last of her garments, displaying a curvaceous youthful body. 

* 

Unknown to the young couple, five men entered through the main door of the facility. A scraggly-bearded man in the lead of the small procession was none other than Hans Feldman, owner of the once-prestigious, but now long defunct, company.

Four business executives followed him through a darkened corridor to a locked door. Feldman fumbled with a magnetic key but managed to open the panel. Inside was a large switch with a keyhole slot in the center column.

“Gentlemen,” he said in a high-pitched voice, “I assure you all the systems in this facility are operable.”

One of the men stepped forward. “Our possible purchase of this plant depends upon that, Mr. Feldman. Let’s begin the inspection.”

Feldman nodded and licked his lips nervously. He inserted a key in the slot of a power box and then tripped the main breaker. 

* 

Merlin was momentarily blinded when the overhead shop lights flared on. Viki gasped and fell backward as the sound of machinery suddenly came to life. Merlin leaned over the edge of the bed and extended his arms out to her.

“Get out of there, Viki – now!” he shouted. She scrambled to her hands and knees and then moved quickly toward his arms. Merlin glanced up at sudden movement above them and screamed when the massive stamping pad descended at a rate almost too fast for him to comprehend. 

* 

Merlin screamed as he bolted up from his bed and panted heavily. His night clothes were soaked in sweat and clung to his body. He felt hot and dizzy. It took several moments for him to gain control and calm down. When he finally stopped shaking, he raised his hands before his eyes. He opened and closed his fingers several times as he stared at them.

Finally, he dropped them and hung his head. “Viki, I'm so sorry…” he whispered. 

* * * 

Kehtan wandered the corridors of their transport cruiser, lost in thought. The lights were at half illumination to give the feeling of ‘night’ and most of the passengers were slumbering in their beds.  Kehtan, however, could not sleep. He would have rather made the flight in his own vessel, but he'd sold it a year earlier, thinking he'd never need it again. Granted, he was wealthy enough that he could have bought another one, but he hadn’t wanted to take the time to hire a crew and get the permits necessary for a private cruiser with LightDrive capabilities.

If Rojur could be persuaded to join his personal venture, Kehtan knew the esper owned a ship suitable for the necessarily long journey.

The retired captain paused before a mirrored panel and studied his reflection. His hair had turned completely white over the past few years and lines of age creased his face. Although his small eyes still sparkled piercingly, the color had dulled to a slate grey and sight in his left eye had grown weaker. At times his judgment was questionable and he had developed a tendency to stare off into infinity when inactive for long periods.

Kehtan frowned. The affliction had not slowed with expensive treatments as his doctors had claimed it would. That was all the more reason to put his plan into effect. It may be the only hope he had.