Galaxy of Empires- Merchant Wars Episode #1 Read online

  “Um…no. I did not even know I could do that.”

  “You probably can and a lot more. I will show you what I can do. I have never known anyone who had a PSI rating higher than I do. You may have other abilities beyond known telepathic abilities. I suggest you take a trip to the Consortium and access their telepathic library, which is probably the most comprehensive as far as telepathic studies. The person you really need to talk to is Empress Draca, if that is even possible. Draca is not known for speaking to people outside of the Consortium. In fact, she rarely talks with anyone, even within the Consortium.”

  “Really…hmm,” Eve becomes concerned about the message Empress Draca sent her, and then realizes she is with a guest right now.

  Zach says, “Hold your hand out and picture holding a fireball. Focus on that.”

  Eve gently puts her hand forth and looks at it. She begins focusing on that thought for a few seconds as her hand ignites with fire. Then she starts to make different shapes with the fire in her hand, such as turning her hand to the wall and shooting the flame into the wall and igniting it. The ship-wide intercom comes on, blaring, “Warning! Fire in the Captain’s quarters! Warning! Fire in the Captain’s quarters! This is not a drill!”

  “Woah there, Girl on Fire,” Zach says loudly. “You need to watch it there before you burn us up. You can also put it out, but that is usually with water and not with your mind.” They both laughed as they grab the fire extinguisher hanging on the wall. About that time, the door chimes and someone asks, “Captain, are you okay in there?”

  Eve says, “It is all good. The fire is out. Return to your station.”

  “You need to start small and work your way up, Princess. You can also do that with electricity—but not tonight. We don’t need any more fires, ha-ha.”

  Eve giggles.

  “Now when two telepaths make love, it is very different than when non-telepaths do it. All of the senses are amplified. The more powerful the telepaths, the more intense the sexual encounter. Now…do you want to find out if half-breeds can be made outside the lab…?” Zach says with a big grin and a wink.

  Eve chuckles, “But, of course. Let’s play Doctor….”

  Chapter Three

  The next day the Endure went on its way to the capital with its host of telepaths. Eve had set a course to the neutral zone and went on her way. By the fourth day, the trip had been uneventful up to that time. Now they had left Reptilian space and were entering the neutral zone. Eve had been practicing several new telepathic abilities that she had learned from Zach for the past four days and was mastering them at a very quick pace.

  She is sitting in her office when she hears the door chime.

  “Enter.”

  The door opens, and suddenly a blasting sound shrieks into the room for a few moments and then silence. The first officer is standing in the doorway slightly in the room with a blaster pointed at the Captain. He activates the sonic inhibitor that lets out a loud noise on a certain frequency that incapacitates a telepath’s telepathic abilities. He fires his blaster at Eve at point blank range. The blaster makes a clicking noise.

  Eve remarks, “Oops, looks like your blaster’s warranty is up.” With her blue eyes flaring, she grabs him and slams him into the wall.

  “You did not think it was going to be that easy, did you? I am not an idiot. Are you wondering why your blaster doesn’t work or your sonic inhibitor for that matter? It is called an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse. I carry a device around with me that generates a small EMP. My office is equipped with one, too. I have them set to the same frequency that sonic inhibitors use. Therefore, when a sonic inhibitor goes off, it triggers an EMP that kills all the electronics within 50 feet of me or my office. You seriously must be stupid to think I did not have a defense against sonic inhibitors. People try to kill me all the time. Thus, I have defenses in place.”

  “While you are struggling on the floor to breathe for air, I am trying to decide whether I want to choke you to death, burn you, or kill you in some other fashion.” She presses a button and a panel opens. Her collection of heads gleams as the power reactivates in the room. She probes his mind to see who he is working for.

  “So they offered you my ship in return for assassinating me. Once I take out the Apel Merchant Group, I will show them your head that will be filling that empty spot right there on the end of row 2.” She takes a huge cleaver out of her desk and walks over to her first officer and lifts him off the ground with telekinesis as he gags for air. She heats up the cleaver with her mind until it glows red-hot and takes a sudden but swift swing, removing Meto’s head. She then walks over and places it on the empty peg on row 2 of her heads. My taxidermist is going to appreciate my business this month for sure, she thought to herself with a slight giggle.

  She presses the intercom button, “42, you are now First Officer. Congratulations. Also, have a custodian come down here in the clean up what is left of our former First Officer. I will be up on the bridge in a few minutes so have a status report ready. Out.”

  Eve walks down a corridor to get to the bridge when she hears someone behind her chanting, and just as she turns around, she sees a flash of lightning in the corner of her eye. She ducks and rolls to the left with blinding speed as the lightning bolt barely misses her right shoulder and slams into the corridor wall. “Shield,” she says as her personal shield activates just in time to intercept another lightning bolt. In front of her is a human female sorcerer wearing a red dress in a black cloak with black hair and green eyes. The sorcerer begins casting through what appeared to be some sort of magical shield. At the same time, another sorcerer from behind her, a human male dressed in black leather, begins casting a spell. Eve realizes she has been caught in an ambush. Both of them are wearing metallic telepathic protection helmets.

  “Disintegrate,” the female sorcerer says, completing her spell as a red beam shoots out of the hand of the sorcerer and hits Eve’s force field. Eve becomes defenseless as her shield drops.

  “Lightning,” the male sorcerer says as a bolt roars through the air and catches Eve on the left side of her rib cage and she rolls to the right of the hallway. Severely wounded, she knows she is doomed, boxed in like an animal on safari. She hears the sorceress began casting again. She turns her fear into anger stands up slowly holding her left side, which was bleeding out. She focuses her mind, grabs both assassins at the same time, and hoists them up in the air while choking them.

  “Hard to cast spells when you can’t talk, witches,” Eve says in pain. “You like lightning so much, let me give you some of mine.” Both her hands began to glow as a huge arc of lightning slams into both airborne figures sending them flying down the hall into the wall. She hits them again, this time maintaining lightning streaks until nothing is left of the bodies except charred remains. As the smoldering corpses release the smoky whispers of burning flesh, Eve walks down the corridor toward the bodies.

  “I guess only skulls are left from these two for my collection, heh.” She coughs and limps off toward the infirmary.

  Over the intercom, an automated message begins playing, “Intruder alert on Deck 13, Section 8, intruder alert on Deck 13, Section 8.” Security comes down the hall about the time Eve starts limping toward the infirmary, and she collapses in the hallway just as they arrive.

  Gartooth commands, “Secure the corridor door, men. I don’t want anyone coming down here unless they are medical personnel.” He clicks a button on his com badge, “Farshe, get a medical team down to Deck 13, Section 8 because the boss has been hit really bad. Also, fire crew get your butts down here fast and contain this fire.” A few moments later, the medical crew arrives with Dr. Farshe.

  “Get her on the gurney and get to the medical bay. Start scans and tests as soon as we get there. I need to prep for surgery. Do it now!” Dr. Farshe barks loudly. They load Eve on the gurney and rush down the hall with the security team following them looking for unknown assassins who may potentially jump out along the way.
/>
  Gartooth says on the ship-wide intercom, “The ship is on lockdown; all personnel who are not on duty report to your quarters and stay there. I don’t want anybody roaming around while there might be unknown assassins lurking about. If you are not in your room, you will be shot on sight and we will ask questions later if you are still alive. This lockdown is in effect until further notice, Gartooth out.” When it comes to security, Gartooth takes his job very seriously and this is one of the reasons Eve recruited him. This is not the first time someone has taken a shot at the Captain, and it will not be the last.

  “The trauma team is ready to operate, Doctor.”

  “Very well, let me see the chart pads for the test results. Okay, looks like some broken ribs and third-degree burns on the left side. Let us get all these clothes off and remove the burnt material from the skin first and disinfect the area.”

  After about three hours, the doctor completes the surgery. The command staff had been waiting in the sitting area outside the surgery room. The doctor walks outside the hall and notices the twins, Hemla and Semla, pacing back and forth. Gartooth is standing at the doorway along with some security guards placed all around the hallway as well as the waiting room. He had ordered a ship-wide search for any other intruders who were not listed on the ship’s manifest of employees. Rulu, the chief engineer, and Pura, the ship’s cook and cargo supervisor, were sitting in the chairs waiting for news.

  “The surgery was successful. She is not out of the woods yet, but she is stable and very lucky. If she makes it through the night, she should be okay. But you know the Captain—she is stubborn and relentless,” the doctor concludes.

  “Thank you Dr. Farshe,” Hemla says with gratitude.

  “Get some rest, guys, and I will inform you if there is any change. There are plenty of security personnel here.”

  ***

  The next morning, 42 goes to check on Eve after his shift on the bridge. He arrives in the infirmary and sees Helma and Nelma sitting on both sides of Eve’s bed. Eve is sitting up with some pillows sporting her back and she is talking to the twins. 42 walks up to Eve.

  “Boss, you gave us a real scare there,” 42 says.

  “I will survive. Just got caught with my pants down so to speak. I am more embarrassed they caught me in an ambush unprepared. Any idea who the assassins were or should I say which one of my enemies sent them?”

  “From what we can tell, they came aboard one of the shuttles from Endure that was picking up the supplies that you were sending to them. They pretended to be members of the Endure’s crew. Nobody noticed them not getting back on the shuttles when they left. Unfortunately, there was not much left of their bodies after you are finished with them, Boss. New abilities I presume? Not that I mind, it just means that my favorite boss will be sticking around a lot longer than my previous bosses because they were weaker. Did find metal tags on them, and it looks like they were possibly spies for the telepathic police from the Elemental Empire. My guess is they thought you were part of the telepathic underground movement and were trying to take you out.”

  “Makes sense. I guess I am on their hit list now. I was not expecting an assassination attempt a few minutes after another assassination attempt. I mean they don’t usually come that close together from two different parties. Our former First Officer was working for the merchant group Apel. They promised him my ship if he took me out, and unfortunately for him, his attempt failed.”

  “The Apel group is one of our current challengers. Yes, we need to start taking out some of these challengers to show them who is on top, right Boss?” 42 responds.

  “Yes, that is one thing we need to attend to soon as we get back. Ship status and how long before you get to the coordinates I gave you?” Eve inquires.

  “All systems go, cleaned up the fires, and repaired the damaged halls where you were ambushed. Should be at the coordinates in about two hours.”

  “Very good, 42. You will make a fine First Officer. Give yourself a 5% raise. Do you think I should hire someone else to do the accounting or communications? I can or do you think you can handle First Officer duties along with the duties you already have?”

  “It is okay, Boss. I am an Android and I can handle it all, so you do not need extra personnel for those other two jobs.”

  “Very well. Inform me when we arrive at our destination. It will take me two hours to convince the doctor to let me out of this place.”

  The doctor in the next room replies, “I heard that. You need bed rest and time to heal, Captain. You do not need to be out exploring, adventuring, and being shot up. Besides, you never know when the next assassination attempt will be and so you need to be at full strength.”

  “I assure you, Doc, I am fine,” Eve promises.

  “I don’t tell you how to captain ships, do I? When it comes to you and this crew’s health, my job is to make sure that your well-being comes first. Now the rest of you clear on out of here and let her go to sleep.”

  The twins and 42 leave the room. Eve begins to rest and falls asleep.

  Chapter Four

  Two hours pass by and the intercom activates ship-wide. “Action stations! Action stations! Contact made!” 42 announces. Eve awakes and presses her com badge.

  “Report!”

  “Boss, we have a distress signal coming from an area close to the coordinates that we have arrived at.”

  “I am coming to the bridge.”

  “You are so stubborn; it may open up your wound again if you do not watch it,” the doctor sighs.

  “Just put me on those floating med chairs and I will be okay, Doc. I need to be on my bridge.”

  “Very well, but I am coming with you to monitor your condition. You do not need a lot of stress right now.”

  “Fine.”

  Upon reaching the bridge, Helma and Nelma were on duty along with 42 and Gartooth.

  “Status?”

  “Picking up a week distress signal coming from the asteroid belt approximately five minutes from this position,” 42 informs.

  “Hmm…. Sounds like a pirate trap. They use asteroid belts a lot to sucker people in,” Gartooth suggests.

  “Yeah, that is what I was thinking. Get the stasis net ready for deployment just in case we have any uninvited guests. Also, load those mines up into the mine deployment shuttle.” Eve commands. “Move in range of the asteroid belt and launch a class A-probe.”

  “Launching probe. Readings will begin in 60 seconds,” 42 says. “Looks like the asteroid belt is dense, but there is an opening at 98.2 x 36.1 x 52.8 that can fit a ship of our size. The asteroids in the belt consist mostly of non-valuable minerals and ores. Picking up the distress signal, which appears to be an Elemental Empire signal. Coming from within the asteroid belt and the approximate location of the opening, I just mentioned. Probe is too far away to scan for life signs; we need to get closer to the mouth of the clearing of the asteroid belt and I’m not sure from how deep the signals are coming.”

  “Action stations, code yellow, shields up, prime weapons,” Eve announces over the ship-wide intercom. “Move us into the mouth of the opening and launch another probe. Deploy mines on the right side of the opening and activate their cloaking devices. Set the statis net trap to the left after we pass by it. Open the net and have someone standing by to retract it if we have to leave suddenly. That should be sufficient to prevent any surprise visits from behind us.”

  “Readings from the second probe are coming in…. Appears to be a large asteroid about the size of a small moon approximately five minutes in front of us at a current sub-light speed. The asteroid has building structures on it as well as a large war cruiser on the landing pad close to the structures. Structures appear to be made by the Elemental Empire, but the cruiser is a class 2 undead attack vessel. Coming closer in, there are fighters that have been deployed just drifting in space not moving, approximately 36 undead fighters of different kinds. All ships are inactive and not moving. The facility seems to have no power, no li
fe, or undead activity. I am just picking up a distress signal as far as I can tell,” 42 explains.

  “What are the undead doing over here in this part of space. This is a long way from Vampire space. Activate condition red. Get a landing party ready with five squads of security officers fully armed with biotech armor; we do not need any of our own turning into the undead. Make sure you pack a lot of flamethrowers and ultraviolet light explosives,” Eve orders.

  “42, you have command. Make sure you notify me immediately if we have any unwanted visitors. Gartooth, meet me in the cargo bay with our landing party and bring the doctor with us. Bring extra scanners of different types. If this place is some sort of secret facility for the Elemental Empire, then it is always good to be prepared. Must be something special if the undead are interested in it. The Vampires are at war with many empires so, that doesn’t mean much. I think only the Reptilian Empire is that only one not at war with the undead, or at least not yet.”

  Thirty minutes later, the ship sends down two shuttlecrafts. They land next to what appears to be one of the main entrances on the west side of the complex. Twenty fully armed security guards with biotech armor along with Eve, Gartooth, and Dr. Farshe get out of the shuttlecrafts. Eve is still in pain from her injuries, but she is feeling better with the reinforced brace that the doctor put on before they left the ship.

  Eve says, “Let’s fan out and stay within visual range. Do not go off alone anywhere. Lets go.” They walk cautiously to the entrance and go inside. Using the high-beam flashlights on their weapons and their bio-suits, they light up the hallway. They come down to an intersection and see corpses of humans and the undead in all directions. They see the ghastly sight of some destroyed Bone Warriors. Bone Warriors are the undead foot soldiers of the Vampire Empire. They are animated armored zombies that have a highly contagious touch that will turn any living creature into undead Bone Warriors. The humans bodies in the hallway have flamethrowers and are scattered among the half-charred undead. Some of the humans were burned just as the undead were, but several of the others died from hand blaster damage or explosives.