Chapter 14  - by elveloy

Entering the outer edges of the solar system inside the Vipa, Makuy leant forward in xeir chair, hands gripping the arm rests and xeir crest pulsing ruby red with anticipation. The view screen showed mostly black space, only the light from far distant stars piercing the present background, but any moment, if all went to plan, xeir target would fill the screen with its foolish pinkness.

After weeks of tracking from one (mainly) false lead to another, it seemed they were finally on the right path.

As soon as Makuy had discovered Sanju's plans to track the Human to her home planet, Earth, the source of real amber—one of the galaxy's treasures—Makuy had set course for the nearest IP (Intergalactic Portal) and sent off instructions to xeir agents in the field.

As a long-time TAS operative, Makuy had cultivated an extensive network of spies around the galaxy. Most of the time they reported on key events in their region, alerting xem to any crisis which might affect the Hiwjshi home world, but occasionally Makuy would give them a specific task.

This time, the mission was to track Sanju, or xeir vessel when xe found one, and discover xeir destination. A cumbersome process, but necessary. Unfortunately, "Earth"—or its linguistic equivalent—was far too common a title for planets. Otherwise, Makuy would have gone straight there and taken the amber for xemself.

Xe had never dreamt it would take so long. Sanju seemed to lurch from one false destination to another. Would xe never find this plorkish planet?

And then, on xeir last visit to an IP, Makuy had retrieved a data package from one of xeir most reliable Vlernish agents.

"Greetings, illustrious Makuy, Agent Blarj reporting. I am pleased to inform you that the target is in orbit around Earth, home to the Grand Fl'umph and his people, in the Sol' system."

Clicking xeir claws with glee, Makuy immediately sent a return data package through the IP, containing detailed instructions for xeir agent.

"Ingris? Please set course for Sol'. We have found our amber!"

"At last! Thanks be to the Blind Spinner!"

Makuy glanced uneasily across at the two Latrodecti, seated in specially commissioned chairs in front of the control panel, because bipedally-designed seats just didn't work for the spiderlike species. Lured by the promise of amber, Ingris Ka'Jana and Helm Ku'Bobran had been patient but even they had been getting restless, clicking their mandibles rather unpleasantly when they thought he wasn't looking.

They, plus the ship's AI, SALI (short for Superior Artificial Life and Intelligence) made up Vipa's crew. Ingris and Helm also happened to own the ship. The hiring cost had been crest-raising, but Makuy considered it was worth every ooblet, far cheaper than buying a ship of xeir own, for instance.

Coated in black luminum, Vipa was not only one of the fastest craft around but it was almost invisible to the outside eye when in space, and even better, it looked supernova hot, unlike xeir rival's Strawberry Mollusk ... which was a joke.

That had been hours earlier and now they were approaching the Sol' system.

A message on xeir console unit from Blarj brought xeir full attention back to the present. "Greetings, most illustrious Makuy. Agent Blarj reporting success. The enemy craft is captured."

"Apex news, Agent Blarj!" Makuy's skin flashed ruby, and xe combed xeir crest with one hand. Not long now. Soon the amber would be xeirs.

Xe passed the precise space co-ordinates to Ingris who was on piloting duty again. She made a couple of slight adjustments and moments later the Strawberry Mollusk appeared as a tiny dot in the distance. In nano-seconds it filled the screen, just as Makuy had pictured.

The Vipa slowed to a complete stop and there was a slight bump as the two ships connected. In a flash, Makuy was out of xeir seat and heading down to the docking bay, Ingris and Helm skittering along beside xem.

"Are you both coming?" Makuy asked, slightly surprised.

"But of course," answered Helm. "SALI can manage the ship quite well without us. And we can't wait any longer to see our amber." His eyes glittered.

Makuy wasn't quite sure xe liked the emphasis Helm put on the possessive pronoun, but xe put the thought aside to deal with later. It was probably a language thing. Xe clicked xeir pointed nails impatiently as the docking ports settled into alignment and the airlocks engaged and pressurised. At least xe didn't need to put on a spacesuit this time. The atmospheres were calibrated to the same setting in each ship.

The raiding party wasted no time.

Makuy led the way, holding xeir needle gun. The Latrodecti appeared to be unarmed, though the markings on Ingris' back informed the initiated that she had venom and could use it. Makuy strode triumphantly onto the Strawberry Mollusk's bridge, xeir eyes flicking around the room, taking in the three occupants held at bay by a large grey-furred Vlern. Blarj had a laser gun in one hand and a strange weapon in the other.

Sanju had so many orange spots xe resembled a dead phlom. Xeir eyes flashed furiously when xe caught sight of Makuy. The young Hiwjshi appeared to be flanked by two Humans, although one of them was an odd colour and the other had a bulge in the middle.

"So, rinja, we meet again," Makuy chuckled. "You led us a merry chase, but here we are."

The captives' eyes were the only things moving. Impressive, evidently the second weapon Blarj held was an immobiliser.

"All I want is the amber," announced Makuy. "Tell me where it is and no-one will get hurt."

The three captives blinked but no-one answered. Sanju rolled xeir eyes. Makuy repeated the demand, more loudly, before xe realised their mouths were as immobile as their arms and legs.

"Can you turn that down a bit?" xe asked xeir agent. Blarj adjusted the device, and Sanju shook xeir head, rotating xeir jaw a couple of times. Makuy was disconcerted to see a triumphant expression flood Sanju's face.

"There is no amber, plorkish gomble! You have chased us across the galaxy for nothing!"

"What do you mean? There is no amber? You are lying!"

"No! Go on, search the whole ship. You will find no amber here."

Makuy glared in fury, golden spots beginning to dot xeir skin, the cream rings turning dull and blotchy.

"Make no mistake, I will tear this ship apart if I have to."

Ingris and Helm chattered briefly together in Arachnian, then Helm looked at Makuy.

"I will search," he announced, firmly, "just to be certain. It would be foolish to take the words of those under duress without confirmation. Ingris will stay here to make sure no-one leaves the bridge." He turned to the captives. "Will you order the AI to give me free and safe passage throughout the ship?"

"That is acceptable," agreed Sanju. Who knew better than xem that there was no amber aboard? The sooner the invaders realised this, the sooner they would leave.

"Sure," said Hana, "knock yourself out! ALI? The Latrodectus is to be allowed safe access to the hold and the rest of the ship. Will you comply?"

"All right," said ALI, who had been surprisingly quiet until now. "If you are sure that's what you want. There's no need for anyone to get hurt. Would you like to hear my light globe joke again? It might lighten the tension."

Hana and Phili rolled their eyes.

"That will not be necessary," declared Helm, extracting a small scanner from an inside pocket. "If there is any amber aboard, my minnerscan will find it."

Barely waiting for Makuy to give a short nod of approval, Helm left the bridge, holding the device before him.

Hana broke the silence. "He won't find any. Sanju is telling the truth. We didn't find any amber. That was not the true Earth, so there was never any amber there to find."

Makuy shook xeir head in denial. "But Blarj heard you. You spoke about bringing 'precious cargo' aboard."

"That's true," confirmed Blarj, his antennas nodding.

Hana smiled and tried to pat her stomach, but the Immobiliser ray was still preventing her. "My baby. I was talking about my baby."

"'Baby'? What 'baby'?"

"Her young one. She is with young," intervened Phili, helpfully.

"But what about the amber? Ulen discussed your plans with me, back on TAS. He wasn't convinced you could handle the job. You told him you were going to Earth, hunting for amber." Makuy was struggling to comprehend, unwilling to believe xe had been fooled.

"Ah. That's where the confusion arose. I was talking about a person called Amber, the explorer who was searching for Earth, the original Earth. Not the fake one we just left," Hana explained, trying to keep her voice calm and reasonable.

"Now who's the rinja?" sneered Sanju, perhaps unwisely given the circumstances.

"Then it's really true? There is no amber?" Ingris spoke for the first time, looking from one captive to the other.

"Sorry, no. At least not here, not with us and not on the Strawberry Mollusk. There may well be some back on old Earth but we haven't found it," answered Hana, beginning to feel annoyed now the stress had reduced somewhat. She thought the immobiliser beam was weakening, too. Surely the Hiwjshi and xeir friends would leave now they knew there was nothing here for them.

Ingris turned to face Makuy, her expression unreadable.

"You promised us amber."

"It's not my fault! That Human said you were hunting amber!" Makuy was now an iridescent yellow expressing a mixture of rage and fear. Sanju and the Human had tricked xem. How was xe going to pay the Latrodecti now? Their share of the amber had been going to cover most of the Vipa's hiring fee.

Xeir hand holding the laser gun began to tremble.

Sanju shifted uneasily, trying to break free, but though the immobiliser was weakening, it was not enough for xem to escape its force field. Not yet.

"Where is H'ver?" Sanju asked suddenly, hoping to cause a distraction. Plus, xe wanted reassurance that the small droid had not been harmed.

"H'ver?" Blarj was confused.

"Our droid. Small golden sphere."

"Oh, that. It was busy cleaning the lander of all the splinters and dust from the crate, so I left it," said the Vlern with a toothy smile. "And I locked the connecting door from this side when we entered the ship to make certain it wouldn't trouble us."

Makuy was staring blankly from one speaker to the other, as if xe couldn't understand what they were talking about. Xeir colours were fluctuating wildly.

Sanju's crest flattened in alarm. Was the older Hiwjshi losing control?

Makuy spun around as Helm returned to the bridge.

"There is no amber on this ship," announced the Latrodectus, in flat tones.

Makuy swung xeir needle gun around to point at Sanju. "You think you've won, don't you?" Xe hissed the words through clenched teeth. "You tricked me!"

"No. It was just a simple misunderstanding," offered Sanju, attempting to diffuse the rapidly rising tension.

"A trick!" accused Makuy. Xe waved the gun around the bridge. "I won't get much for this piece of plork vomit, but it will have to do."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Hana.

"This ship. I'm confiscating this ship."

"What?"

"You can't do that!" Sanju joined the fray.

"Try and stop me!" invited Makuy, pointing the gun at each of them in turn.

"You'll all be confined to quarters for the journey. We'll drop you off at the nearest stop." Sanju noticed Makuy's crest rise a fraction as xe made that last statement. Makuy was lying! Xe had no intention of allowing any survivors to go free, to lodge complaints.

"You're going to let us go? After stealing our ship?"

Evidently Phili didn't believe him either. Sanju realised xe was cracking xeir finger joints one at a time, and made xemself stop.

Hana turned to Ingris. "You have to help us!"

Ingris murmured something which no one could hear and gave an embarrassed shrug. Evidently the Latrodecti version of "sorry, not our business."

But she was wrong.

"You are a member of the Latrodecti Brood." The pledge spoken by Nondol aboard the Black Widow, came back to Hana as clearly as if Nondol were inside her head. "Wherever you encounter Latrodecti, you may not be denied assistance, aid, sanctuary or supplies, or information. The same will be expected of you."

And she had the evidence on the back of her hands to prove it. Two spider-shaped blotches.

Hana looked down at her hands, then held them out toward Ingris.

"I am Brood. Help us."

She didn't realise she had broken through the immobiliser field, but the sudden movement startled everyone.

Blarj fired his laser gun in the air, unfortunately bringing down a large portion of the ceiling. "Everyone freeze!" he shouted, but the words were swallowed in the din. Clouds of dust filled the bridge causing Hana and Phili to cough violently, their lungs still sensitive from the pollen attack on fake Earth.

Makuy could see the Human woman moving forward through the dust and reacted without thinking. Xe aimed the needle gun at her and fired. But at the very same moment, someone leapt in front of her, spoiling xeir shot. Who was it? It was hard to see.

"No!" screamed Hana, dropping to the floor. "Phili!"
She cradled him in her arms. A small silver needle protruded from his chest. White eyes stared up at the ceiling, sightless.

"You fucker! You killed him!"

"It was his own fault," blustered Makuy. "If you'd all stayed still none of this would have happened."

Ingris tapped xem lightly on the shoulder.

"Yes? What is it?" Makuy turned xeir head, annoyed by the distraction.

Ingris bit xem in the neck.

"Ow! What the—" yelped the Hiwjshi, before collapsing on the floor. Xe twitched for a moment and then lay still.

Ingris turned toward Blarj, who was backing away, his bug eyes bulging in alarm. He pointed the laser gun at her.

"Stay away from me!" He screamed.

Silent as mist, Helm crept up behind and clipped him hard over the ear.

Ingris turned to the stunned crew of the Strawberry Mollusk. Hana and Phili were on the floor, Sanju standing over them protectively. Hana was sobbing, great gusty sobs, her tears falling onto Phili's upturned face.

"We wish to apologise." Ingris addressed Hana. "You are Brood. We did not see the marks until you showed us." She looked at Makuy and Blarj, who Helm was already heaving onto his shoulders. "They are not dead. I think merely stunned, though I haven't used venom for a while, so..." She shrugged. "We shall take them with us and leave you all to mourn in peace."

Dedicated to cocosghost for her amazing support of other writers